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LI  BRARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT    OK 

Received  JAN    17    1 893  ,  rfg    f/ 

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THE 


ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE 


AND  ITS  APPLICATION  IN  STATE 
RELATIONS. 


BY 

MARIETTA  KIES,  Ph.  M, 


PRESENTED  AS  A  THESIS  FOR  THE  DEGREE  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOS- 
OPHY AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  MICHIGAN. 


ANN  ARBOR: 

THE  REGISTER  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 

Ube  "flnlan&  f5reas. 
1892. 


'TJHIVBBSIT7] 

/* A  _     oar      -, w*« 


*-** 


50o 


V 


PREFACE. 


In  the  following  thesis  the  attempt  has  been  to 
■show  that  justice  and  grace  are  complementary 
principles:  and  also,  to  prove  that,  although  these 
principles  can  not  be  separated,  yet  the  principle 
of  grace  or  self-sacrifice  is  in  an  especial  manner 
the  principle  of  growth  or  progress. 

The  effort  has  been  to  establish  these  thoughts 
by  showing  that  justice  and  grace  are  clearly  re- 
vealed in  the  life  of  man;  and  that  the  progress  of 
man  as  a  self- determining  individual,  developing  in 
and  through  the  institutions  of  society,  has  come 
about  by  a  process  in  which  self-sacrifice  is  always 
involved. 

The  institution  considered  at  length  is  the  State. 
We  have  sought  to  show  that  the  potent  principle 
-of  progress  in  our  own  nation  has  been  that  of 
self-sacrifice  expressed  in  different  forms,  and  that, 
even  in  the  sphere  of  industrial  relations,*  where 
self-interest  is  usually  supposed  to  be  the  anima- 
ting motive,  altruism  has  been  and  is  the  underly- 
ing principle  of  real  progress,  and  that  future 
progress  will  be  in  accordance  with  the  same 
principle. 


II  PREFACE. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  refute  other  prin- 
ciples of  explanation  of  progress.  But  such  j>rin- 
ciples  as  "biological  evolution,"  "natural  law," 
"  harmonious  adjustment  of  relations,"  are  inciden- 
tally recognized  as  expressions  of  various  elements 
of  progress  rather  than  that  any  one  is  as  adequate 
a  principle  as  those  which  we  have  called  the  com- 
plementary principles,  "  justice  and  gra*ce." 

For,  as  evolution,  as  a  principle  explaining  the  fact 
of  progress,  is  a  "dynamic  conception,"  more  ade- 
quate than  the  formerly  received  "static  conception," 
so  a  "rational  dynamic  conception"  is  a  more  com- 
prehensive and  adequate  conception  of  the  progress 
of  man  in  the  institutions  of  society  than  the  dynamic 
conception.     This  "  rational  dynamic  conception  " 
sees  man  as  a  self-determining  being,  the  elements 
of  whose  growth  are  a  sequence  which  corresponds 
to  the  development  from  the  simple  and  homogen- 
eous to  the  complex  and  heterogeneous,  in  the  lower 
forms  of  life,  animal  and  vegetable;  but  these  ele- 
ments or  external  appearances  in  the  development 
of  man  are  such  because  of  the  self- determining 
energy  of  man  that  makes  them,  and  the  energy  does 
not  exists  because  of   the  changes  in  the  various 
elements  of  external  appearances;  in  the  institu- 
tions of  society  the  comprehensive  way  in  which 
this  self- determining  energy  manifests  itself  is  in 
accordance  with  the  principles,  justice  and  grace. 


PREFACE. 


Ill 


I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Pro- 
fessor H.  C.  Adams  and  to  Professor  John  Dewey 
for  valuable  instruction;  and  for  helpful  sugges- 
tions in  the  preparation  of  this  thesis. 

Marietta  Kies. 
Mills  College,  California,  Oct.  8, 1801. 


CONTENTS. 


I.    Justice  and  Grace  Closely  Eelated  Prin- 
ciples. 

PAGE 

1.  Man  reveals  both  justice  and  grace  in  his  free 

will 1 

2.  The  mind  creates  a  variety  of  motives 4 

3.  The  complementary    principles,    justice    and 

grace  must  both  be  exemplified  in  state  and 
church  relations 5 

II.    The  Ethical  Principle. 

vv 

1.  Social  whole  basis  of  an  ethical  principle 6 

2.  The  ethical  rule 7 

3.  Following  conscience  frees  one  from  immediate 

responsibility 8 

4.  Ethrcal  rules  vary  with  the  grade  of  thought..      9* 

5.  The  ethical  rule  originates  in  the  highest  grade 

of  thought 11 

6.  Different  grades  of  ethical  shown  by  an  illus- 

tration   fAV^fo 12 

7.  Each  step  of  development"  a  realization  of  the 

ideal  of  the  individual 15 

8.  Illustrations  of  changes  in  ideals 16 

9.  -¥4tis  progress  is  unceasing  iuidJlis£Qjy-.records 

the  beginning  of  an  eternal  process 20 


II  CONTENTS. 

III.  The  Institutions  of  Society:  The  Family, 
the  School,  the  State  and  the  Church;  in  all 
his  Relations  in  these  Institutions,  the  Indi- 
vidual May  Exemplify  the  Ethical  Principle. 

PAGE. 

1.    The  general  sphere  of  assistance  of  each  insti- 
tution in  the  development  of  the  individual.    22 

IY.  The  State  as  a  Moral  Personality  Pro- 
tects the  Individual,  and  also  Secures  to  the 
Individual  the  Opportunity  for  Full  Self- 
Development. 

A.    Nature  of  the  State;  and  general  lines  of 
State  Action. 

1.  The  nation  the  all-inclusive  organic  unity 27 

2.  The  nation  not  determined  by  geographical 

limits  only 28 

3.  The  unity  of  purpose  determines  the  size  and 

extent  of  the  nation 29 

4.  The  development  of  the  individual  and  of  the 

nation  is  in  freedom 30 

5.  The  different  phases  of  the  development  oLthe 

members  of  society  are  expressed  in  the 
nation  as  rights 31 

6.  Narrow  spheres  of  individuality  expressed* in 

the  savage  and  half-civilized  states  of  s  - 
ciety,  wider  and  more  complex  expression  as 
society  develops 32 

7.  Positive  rights  are  natural  rights  recognized 

by  law 35 

8.  The  nation  in  its  sovereignty  specifies  these 

positive  rights 36 

9.  The  State  or  Nation   the  Institution  for  the 

expression  of  Justice 38 


CONTENTS.  Ill 

PAGE. 

j^lO.  The  problem  for  the  Government  is  the  adjust- 
ment of  rights 39 

11.  Society  presents  three  attitudes  to  the  indi- 

vidual, whether  expressed  in  law  or  not 40 

12.  Attitude  of  true  socialism 42 

13.  The  attitude  of  true  socialism  involves  both 

justice  and  grace  or  charity 44 

14.  Laws  of  a  nation  represent  the  intersection 

of  all  the  institutions  of  society 44 

/  15.  Two  standpoints  in  studying  the  ethical  ele- 
ments in  the  laws  of  a  country 45 

"16.    Two  general  classes  of  laws— protective  and 

'  constructive 45 

'  17.  Protective  laws  show  the  principle  of  justice; 
constructive  laws  show  both  principles,  jus- 
tice and  grace 46 

]  18.  Constructive  laws  express  rights  inherent  in 
personality,  and  also  specify  possible  rights, 
that  is,  rights  that  it  is  expedient  for  the 
nation  to  grant 46 

J  19.    Illustrations  of  protective  laws — clauses  from 

the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 47 

-A20.    Laws   in    reference  to  taxation  show   both 

elements,  the  protective  and  the  constructive    49 

^21.  "Two  houses  of  Congress  "and  the  compro- 
mise in  the  basis  of  representation  illustrate 

constructive  measures 53 

22.  The  first  amendments  a  "bill  of  rights,"  a  con- 
structive measure;  illustrated  by  the  two 
thoughts  "freedom  of  the  press"  and 
"  religious  freedom  " 55 

-23.  Difficult  to  determine  to  which— federal  or 
state  government  —  some  constructive 
measures  belong 62 


TV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

24.  Education  might  come  within  the  province  of 

either 63 

25.  "Poor  Laws"  constructive  measures  in  the 

province  of  the  commonwealth 65 

26.  Prison  "  Reformatory-laws  "  constructive 68 

27.  Laws  establishing   Boards  of  State-charities, 

Bureaus  and  Commissions  are  constructive.     72. 

28.  Laws  in  reference  to  Industries  show  dif- 

ferent aspects  of  Government  assistance: 
(a)  laws  regulating  "natural  monopolies" 
tend  to  establish  equality  both  as  regards 
price  and  opportunity  for  individual  initia- 
tive; (b)  laws  relating  to  "capital  monopo- 
lies," like  manufactures,  assist  in  establish- 
ing desirable  conditions  for  labor;  (c)  laws 
in  reference  to  agriculture  beside  the  ethical 
results  from  the  regulation  of  conditions  of 
labor  are  designed  to  give  encouragement  to 
farmers 73 

°  B.    There  are  limits  to  wise  State  action. 

1   (a)    There  may  be  too  much  legislation  even  in 
the  beneficial  lines.  # 

J    1.    Legislation  must  not  take  away  fundamental 

rights  of  any  member  of  society 91 

'  2.    Illustrations 92 

j    3.    Laws  made  in  the  interest  of  a  particular  sec- 
tion of  country  or  of  a  particular  class  or 

industrial  group  are  non-ethical 94 

(b)    Also  in  many  relations  of  society,  assistance 
from  other  than  protective  laws  is  unneces- 
sary. 
1.    The    range    of  motives  possible  in    business 

relations 97 


CONTENTS.  V 

PAGE. 

2.  The     precepts     and     maxims     of     Political 

Economy  the  results  of  pnst  thought 98 

3.  General  relations  of  Logic,  Political  Economy, 

Ethics,   Applied    Economics    and    Applied 
Ethics 99 

4.  Three  general  standpoints  may   be  taken  in 

studying  the  phenomena  of  industrial  rela- 
tions    103 

5.  Illustration  from   a  few  of  the"  fundamental 

concepts"  of   Politieal  Economy 104 

6.  Illustration  from  "  Consumption  " 108 

7.  Illustration  from  "  Production  " 10g 

8.  Illustration  from  Exchange  and  Distribution. .  116 

9.  The  direction  of  progress  indicated , 131 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE 

AND  ITS 

Application  in  State  Relations. 


I. 

JUSTICE  ANTD  GRACE  CLOSELY  RELATED 
PRINCIPLES. 

'It  is  in  man  that  we  find  the  full  exemplification 
and  revelation  of  the  justice  and  grace  of  the  Crea- 
tive Mind.  Through  the  determination  of  free  will 
man  makes  himself.  As  a  child  the  acts  of  a  child 
are  returned  upon  him  by  the  will  of  judicious 
parents.  But  as  a  being  who  has  reached  the  stage 
of  self  conscious'  intelligence,  there  is  a  continual 
process  of  return  unto  the  self.  Every  thought, 
feeling  and  act  shall  come  back  in  its  own  power 
to  contribute  to  the  process  of  change  and  degen- 
eration or  to  the  process  of  change  and  growth  and 
development  of  the  individual  soul.  This  process 
of  self- determination,  of  return  unto  the  self,  is  the 
process  of  justice,  the  fundamental  principle  of 
individuality j  Man  thinks,  feels  and  acts,  and 
receives  the  like  in  kind,  nothing  better,  nothing 


A  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

worse.     This  process  is  the  basis  of  existence,  of 
true  individuality.'^ 

Without  this  fundamental  process  in  justice,  man 
would  cease  to  be  man.  As  important  as  this  foun- 
dation is,  it  is  only  the  fact  of  mere  existence.  Each 
individual  mind,  4ho«gh  infinite  m  its  possibilities, 
is  finite,  is  limited,  and  in  this  fact  is  the  necessity 
of  change  or  growth.  The  process  by  which  man 
grows  is  that  of  self-sacrifice.  Man  originates  his 
own  thoughts,  but  not  simplv  as  self-thoughts,  but 
thoughts  that  may  include,-  other-  than  tho-sel&  | 
The  return  of  the  thoughts,  feelings  and  acts  upon 
self  is  no  less  sure,  but  how  different  the  content! 
Whereas  the  process  in  justice  excludes  the  yield- 
ing of  one's  own  for  the  sake  of  another,  the 
process  of  self-sacrifice,  of  grace,  is  in  its  very 
nature  the  yielding  of  one's  own  immediate  thoughts 
of  self  for  those  of,  and  in  reference  to,  another. 

i  But  this  process  of  giving  implies  also  the 
receiving;  the  small  thought  which  originated  in 
the  self- comes  back  enlarged  by  the  thought  of  the 
other,  i  This  process  of  yielding  is  the  process  of 
making,  and  man  in  giving  up  his  selfish  interests 
and  desires  for  the  interests  of  others  only  gives  up 
a  phase  of  finitude,  and,  at  each  succeeding  step, 
enters  more  and  more  into  the  nature  of  infinite 
thought  and  infinite  love. 

."Justice  means  the  return  of  his  deeds  to  each 


JUSTICE  AND  GKACE.  3 

man.  (  It  therefore  means  freedom.  Whatever  a 
man  does,  he  shall  do  to  himself.  This  is  the 
essence  of  freedom — I  should  say  it  is  the  form  of 
freedom  rather  than  its  substance.  When  the  man 
learns  how  to  do  to  h^s  fellow- man  and  to  himself 
that  which  tends  to  his  perfection,  to  the  develop- 
ment of  his  soul  in  wisdom,  virtue,  and  holiness — 
then  he  acquires  the  substance  of  freedom  as  well 
as  its  form."  * 

And  this  process  which  is  true  for  the  realization 
of  one  human  soul,  is  the  process  by  which  the 
development  of  the  whole  human  race  is  secured. 
This  likeness  of  thought  to  thought  and  feeling  to 
feeling,  or  the  universality  of  thought  and  feeling, 
constitutes  the  bond  in  the  human  family,  the  unity 
of  the  organism,  the  organic  sympathy  which  is  the 
basis  of  the  brother- hood  of  man. 

Man,  in  seeing  the  effects  of  his  own  deeds  upon 
himself,  learns  to  measure  justice  to  another;  and 
in  his  struggle  with  evil  in  his  own  soul  in  his 
moments  of  repentance  and  humiliation,  and  in 
his  attempts  at  helpfulness  to  others,  he  learns 
true  charity. 

However  important  may  be  the  effects  of  an 
external  act,  the  act  as  an  element  of  the  soul,  as 
assisting  to  form  the  character,  lies  in  the  motive. 

*  The  Christian  Union,  Dec.  1,  '87,  article  by  Dr.  W. 
T.  Harris.' 


4  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

And  this  motive  does  not  exist  ready-made  in  the 
mind,  but  the  mind  in  the  thought-processes  creates 
the  motive  as  well  as  the  act,  and  is  therefore 
responsible  in  its  very  freedom  to  make  motises 
that  shall  accord  with  the  tri^e  freedom  of  the  race, 
motives  that  shall  contribute  to  the  better- being 
of  all. 

Justice  when  consciously  adopted  as  a  moving 
principle,  a  guide  for  the  expression  of  thoughts,  or 
for  the  measurement  of  the  deeds  of  others,  is  a 
principle  of  equilibrium — an  Aristotelian  "  moder- 
ation in  all  things,"  a  live  and  let-live  principle. 
The  person  may  adopt  some  other  principle  for 
action  than  justice;  in  the  thoughts  and  the  corres- 
ponding emotions,  as  motives  for  action,  there  are 
two  extremes  of  which  the  human  soul  is  capable. 
One  extreme  is  the  haughty  spiritual  pride  which 
would  exclude  the  self  from  humanity ;  the  other, 
the  overflowing  love  which  would  give  up  life 
itself  for  another  or  for  the  good  of  humanity: 
between  these  two  extremes  may  be  found,  on  one 
side,  innumerable  degrees  of  pride,  envy,  jealousy, 
anger,  covetousness,  lust,  hypocrisy,  etc.,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  of  sincerity,  purity,  honesty,  gener 
osity,  forbearance,  fair-mindedness,  good  will,  and 
charity  or  love  for  mankind. 

For  a  child  the  motives  exist  to  a  large  degree 
external  to  the  child — obedience  to  authority :  but 


JUSTICE  AND  GRACE.  O 

as  a  youth  and  man  developing  through  the  insti- 
tutions of  society,  in  the  expansion  of  thought 
these  motives  have  a  wider  and  wider  range, 
including  at  first  the  family  and  playmates,  then 
friends  and  companions,  and  later  comes  the 
recognition  of  the  kinship  of  the  whole  human  race, 
the  brotherhood  of  mankind.  These  thoughts  as 
moving  principles  or  motives  find  opportunity  for 
widest  expression  in  the  eternal  institutions,  the 
state  and  the  church. 

The  sphere  of  the  state  is  for  the  expression  of 
Justice,  while  Grace  is  the  ruling  motive  of  the 
church,  the  universal  church,  the  organic  unity 
which  reveals  the  nature  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Jus- 
tice and  Grace  are  complementary  principles;  and, 
if  there  be  continuance  and  growth,  each  institu- 
tion, church  and  state,  must  exemplify  both 
principles. 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


II. 

THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 
I  Man  is  born  into  society;  and  it  is  through  and  by 
the  means  of  society  that  the  animal  impulses  and 
desires  are  made  over  into  rational  thoughts  and 
emotions.  The  thoughts  and  emotions  which  in  an 
especial  way  are  individual,  when  made  evident  to 
society,  or  externalized  through  the  formal  will, 
become,  or  may  become  the  thoughts  and  emotions 
of  another,  or  of  others,  and  finally  of  the  social 
whole.  This  union  of  thought  with  thought  and 
will  with  will  constitutes  the  organic  unity.  As,  in 
the  material  universe  the  movement  of  particles  or 
change  in  form  of  forces,  awakens  and  occasions 
responsive  movements  and  changes  in  all  parts  of 
the  universe;  so,  in  the  universe  of  thought,  the 
world  of  spirit,  the  thought  and  acts  of  one  indi- 
vidual ^aaul  may  awaken  responsive  thoughts  and 
acts  in  every  human  J5©ak|  There  may  be  thus  a 
constant  communion  of  each  soul  with  all,  and  of  all 
souls  with  each.  u\he  extent  to  which  the  individ- 
ual is  able  to  grapple  with,  and  to  grasp  the  infinite 
thought  of  society,  make  it  his  own,  and  pass  it  on, 
changed  by  his  own  particular  characteristics,  de- 


THE    ETHICAL    PKINCIPLE.  7 

termines  his  place  and  helpfulness  in  the  organic 
whole. 

But  in  whatever  place  in  society,  he  cannot 
escape  some  kind  of  social  relations  and  the  ques- 
tion will  be  presented  many  times  and  in  many 
forms:  In  view  of  these  social  relations,  how  shall 
VxaJE.  act?  Shall  my  motive,  my  underlying  thought, 
be  that  of  justice,  that  is,  an  attempt  to  measure  to  - 
each  one  his  deeds  and  to  return  to  society  just  the 
kind  of  acts  that  society  gives  to  me,  or  shall  I  *A 
adopt  some  other  principle  of  action  ? 

An  ethical  rule  or  principle  concerns  the  thought, 

tfi«A  ft.  uv^U-  jy*%  t 
emotions,  and  will  of  the  individual:  not  one- phase 

or  department  of  his  nature,  but  the  whole  man; 
therefore,  since  man  and  his  circumstances  are  con- 
tinually changing,  an  ethical  rule  must  have  a  pro- 
gressive application.  An  ethical  rule  must  be  in. 
substance  true  for  all  time,  but  its  application  prac- 
tically must  be  to-day  for  one  set  of  facts  and  to- 
morrow for  another.  But  whatever  the  combina- 
tion ol  circumstances,  two  factors  are  always  pres- 
ent— the  self  and  the  other  members  of  society,  and 
an  ethical  rule  must  be  such  a  guide,  that,,  in  its 
application,  it  will  admit  of  tljie  true  development 
of  both  the  others  and  the  selijj  as  Dr.  W.  T.  Har- 
ris states  it,  "  It  is  the  preference  of  reflected  good 
for  immediate  good — my  good  reflected  from  all 
humanity,  my  good  after  their  good  and  through 


8  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

their  good,  and  not  my  good  before  their  good  and 
instead  of  their  good."  * 

|  Man's  relations  in  society  are  principally  those 
in  reference  to  other  persons.  His  thought  includes 
others.  As  a  being  conscious  of  his  relations,  in 
adopting  this  ethical  principle  as  a  guide  for  action, 
he  makes  others  the  end  or  purpose  of  his  action ; 
his  activity  shall  go  out  to  help  others  to  a  better 
and  higher  way  of  living. 

What  the  good  of  others  is  and  what  one's  own 
good  is,  can  only  be  learned  a  step  at  a  time. 
Acting  according  to  the  dictates  of  one's  conscience, 
as  it  is  called,  frees  one  from  immediate  responsi- 
bility, but  it  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  one 
has  acted  in  accordance  with  what  is  good  for 
humanity  or  ultimate  right.  As,  for  example,  when 
a  Mormon  woman  conscientiously  receives  another 
woman  into  her  home  as  the  second  wife  of  her 
husband,  she,  in  many  cases  thinks  she  is  doing  the 
will  of  God  and  is  following  the  dictates  of  her  own 
conscience.  But  a  wider  education  as  to  the  origin 
of  the  family,  its  historical  development,  and  the 
strong  center  of  holiness  and  right- living  that  a 
well  regulated  monogamous  family  forms  in  society, 
would  change  her  conscience  in  reference  to  poly- 
gamy.    The  conscience  involves  the  act  of  knowing 

♦Journal  of  Speculative  Philosophy,  Vol.  19,  p.  214,  or 
"  Introduction  to  the  study  of  Philosophy,"  p.  244. 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE.  9 

the  succession  of  events  that  has  led  to  the  present 
combination  of  circumstances,  and  also  an  insight 
into  what  the  true  relation  of  the  events  under  con- 
sideration ought  to  ^be  from  the  nature  of  the 
things  or  persons  itf  which  the  events  inhere;  and 
then  an  act  based  upon  these  two  different  kinds  of 
knowledge  will  be  followed  by  the  corresponding 
emotion,  "a  clear  conscience:"  acts  based  upon 
clear  and  correct  conceptions  of  social  relations  will 
be  in  accordance  with  the  good  of  others  and  also 
with  one's  own  good. 

What  is  the  external  of  an  ethical  principle  but 
the  doing  of  that  which  is  customary?  And 
these  (customs  maybe  formed  from  any  or  all  grades 
of  thought  of  which  the  mind  is  capable.  The 
higher  the  grade  of  thought,  the  more  comprehen- 
sive will  be  the  ethical  principle  and  the  more  varied 
and  complex  wftfro  its  applications. 

A  child,  or  a  people  representing  the  child- stage 
of  development  in  thought,  will  have  an  ethical 
principle  placed  in  external  commands  of  rulers 
and  ancestors,  an  ethical  principle  which  demands 
a  blind  obedience  to  authority. 

And  even  a  lower  grade  of  ethical  principle  may 
be  found  than  that  which  is  seen  in  the  normal 
child-mind.  Acts  resulting  from  a  state  of  mind  of 
covetousness,  jealousy,  anger,  revenge,  etc.,  show 
a  kind  of  ethical  principle;  for  so  long  as  human 


10 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


beings  can  associate  together  there  is  a  phase  of  the 
ethical.  The  only  position  in  which  the  human 
soul  can  be  in  which  there  is  no  exemplification  of 
the  ethical,  is  when  that  soul  is  sealed  with  unfeel- 
ing pride, — the  frozen  condition  of  such  a  mind 
prevents  thoughts  or  acts  going  out  to  another  or 
being  received  from  others,  and  thus  there  is  com- 
plete isolation  from  others. 

In  the  normal  development  of  the  mind  of  an 
individual  or  a  nation  or  people,  in  a  higher  than 
the  child- grade  of  thought,  there  are  customs  indi- 
cating a  more  complex  ethical  principle.  The  ethi- 
cal principle  of  this  kind  of  an  individual  or  a  people 
would  be  such  as  would  result  from  a  second  or 
higher  plane  of  thought.  An  ethical  principle 
from  this  higher  plane  of  thought  would  place  the 
individual  as  the  center  and  either  a  fortuitious 
combination  of  circumstances  would  produce  "  the 
greatest  happiness"  to  the  individual,  or  if  the 
conception  reached  that  of  "  altruism,"  it  would  be 
an  altruism  that  comes  from  a  mechanical  concep- 
tion of  society — a  society  whose  development,  be- 
cause involving  the  will  of  man  is  regarded  as 
"artificial."  But  "self-interest"  in  some  form 
would  be  the  moving  principle;  self-interest, 
whether  pure  individualism,  simply  happiness  of 
the  individual,  or  the  higher  form  which  would 
place  the  end  in  the  development  of  the  self,  that, 


THE  ETHICAL  PBINCIPLE.  11 

thereby,  the  good  end  in  the  self  may  eventually 
become  the  good  of  society. 

/"An  ethical  principle  arising  from  the  highest 
grade  of  thought  would  place  "  others "  as  the 
center  of  interest  and  the  self  as  recipient  of 
reflected  good.;  Such  a  principle  is  that  of  true 
altruism;  and  since  its  source  is  in  the  plane  of 
thought  that  recognizes  man's  relations  to  the 
divine,  whether  in  God  or  man,  such  a  principle  is 
comprehensive  enough  for  a  guide  in  all  the  possi- 
ble relations  of  members  of  the  organic  unity. 
Ethical  principles  arising  from  lower  grades  of 
thought,  when  taken  as  guides  in  every- day  affairs, 
may  secure  prosperous  circumstances  for  one  indi- 
vidual or  for  a  few;  but  the  preference  by  the 
individual  of  reflected  to  immediate  good  makes  it 
possible  for  each  and  all  to  receive  the  best  influ- 
ences from  the  social  whole :  and  since  this  ethical 
principle  of  the  highest  plane  of  thought  will,  in 
practical  application,  secure  the  highest  develop- 
ment of  all  the  members  of  society,  it  should  be 
called  the  ethical  principle. 

The  ethical  principle  is  the  same  as  the  content 
of  the  religious  consciousness.  For  the  motives, 
love,  reverence,  and  praise  to  God,  must  find  their 
highest  expression  on  the  will- side  in  the  relation- 
ships of  humanity — in  loving  helpfulness  to  one's 
fellow-men.     Through  the  faith -element,  the  unlet- 


12  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

tered  wild- man,  the  humble  toiler,  the  business  or 
class  or  party  leader,  those  of  high  estate,  may, 
each  and  all,  by  this  insight  of  faith,  adopt  the 
divine  will,  the  good  of  others,  as  the  moving  prin- 
ciple of  their  lives,  and  may  thus  produce  results 
through  the  formal  will  that  are  essentially  the 
same  as  the  results  from  acts  moved  by  the 
reasoned-out  principle  of  the  ethical  philosopher. 

"By  content  of  religious  consciousness"  is  not 
meant  that  "disinterestedness"  which  places  the 
end  or  purpose  in  self-sacrifice  for  its  own  sake. 
Such  an  attitude  is  rather  the  opposite  of  the  true 
motive,  which  is  helpfulness  to  others  and  the 
reception  of  one's  own  good  through  others,  though 
in  this  process  of  expression  of  thought  for  others, 
healthy  self-sacrifice  is  always  involved. 

The  above  thought,  that  the  ethical  principle 
varies  as  the  grade  of  thought  and  emotions  varies, 
may  be  seen  more  clearly  from  the  following  illus- 
tration: When  a  company  of  men  unite  them- 
selves for  the  purpose  of  plunder,  the  "  honor 
among  thieves"  is  the  ethical  principle  binding 
them  to  work  together  and  to  share  the  booty 
obtained.  But  one  of  these  robbers  might  become 
suspicious  of  the  faithfulness  of  the  others,  and 
jealousy  and  anger  fill  his  thoughts;  still,  as  long 
as  he  remained  in  the  robber-band  and  assisted  in 
the  tasks  or  in  councils,  he  would  show  a  phase  of 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE.  13 

the  ethical.  However,  if  the  one  should  withdraw 
himself  from  the  band  in  stolid  indifference  to  his 
own  fate  and  to  that  of  the  others,  the  one  would 
then  cease  to  exemplify  the  ethical.  Such  a  condi- 
tion long  continued  would  either  result  in  suicide — 
destruction  of  the  physical — or  in  insanity,  a  com- 
plete severance,  for  the  time,  from  the  organic 
unity. 

And  the  robber  may,  by  a  lesson  in  legal  penalty, 
be  led  to  exhibit  a  kind  of  ethical  which  comes 
with  obedience  to  authority,  and  so  be  led  to 
,  respect  the  rights  of  others  to  a  possession  of  their 
own  property.  And  farther,  the  robber,  through 
reformatory  measures,  may  find  aroused  the  instinct- 
ive feelings  of  right  and  wrong  and  may  thus  be 
led  to  a  plane  of  thought  which  sees  the  relations 
of  his  own  to  the  rights  of  others  in  reference  to 
the  ownership  of  property;  and,  with  this  knowl- 
edge, his  acts  may  now  show  another  grade  of  the 
ethical.  His  motive  is  no  longer  to  secure  all  he 
can  get,  but  he  recognizes  that  that  only  is  truly  his 
which  can  come  to  him  as  the  result  of  a  rightly 
directed  effort  in  society,  or  that  which  comes  into 
his  possession  by  way  of  inheritance  or  gift.  He 
takes  his  own  and  leaves  others  in  the  undisturbed 
possession  of  their  own.  The  robber,  now  a  citi- 
zen, a  moral,  respected  man  of  society,  in  the 
countless  ways  in  which  he  may  come  in  contact 


14  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

with  his  fellow  men,  in  his  family  and  home  life,  in 
his  business  life,  in  his  interest  in  the  municipal, 
state  and  county  politics,  in  his  general,  civil,  and 
social  relations,  exhibits  an  ethical  principle,  that, 
from  the  stage  of  thought  which  we  are  consider- 
ing, would  have  as  its  mainspring  some  phase  of 
self-interest.  This  individualism  may  vary  from 
the  self- centered  condition  which  makes  him  a 
"  terror  "  to  his  family  and  gains  for  him  the  title 
of  "hard  man"  among  his  acquaintances,  to  the 
enlightened  self-interest  that  would  lead  him  to 
help  society,  if,  eventually,  he  would  be  better  off 
himself,  and  that  would  even  lead  him  to  spend 
money  for  the  public,  if  thereby  his  own  estate 
might  be  improved,  or  would  lead  him  to  make  a 
gift  or  bequest,  if  his  name  could  be  associated 
with  it  or  some  honor  bestowed  upon  his  family. 

And  once  more,  the  robber,  led  through  reason 
or  through  faith  to  recognize  .unchanging  and 
eternal  principles,  in  the  same  relations  in  which 
above  was  placed  the  man  actuated  by  self-interest, 
becomes  now  a  man  with  different  motives.  That 
he  may  get  another  man's  money  even  by  skill  and 
shrewdness  and  "fair  play"  is  of  secondary 
importance.  Wealth  to  him  is  no  longer  an  end  in 
itself,  but  a  means  for  securing  the  betterment 
physically,  mentally,  morally  and  religiously  of 
his   own  family,  and  of   the    greatest    number  of 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE.  15 

less  fortunate  families,  and  for  securing  the  great- 
est possible  good  to  his  town,  state,  country,  or  to 
society  as  a  whole.  His  own  good,  while  recog- 
nized as  necessary  for  complete  self- development, 
is  received  after  and  through  the  good  of  others. 
The  reflected  good  from  the  use  of  wealth  is  his 
motive  rather  than  the  enjoyment  of  its  immediate 
use.  His  ethical  principle  is  seen  by  him  as  equiv- 
alent to  the  golden  rule,  "whatsoever  ye  would 
(would  =  ought  to  wish )  that  men  should  do  to 
you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them; "  and  the  true  spirit  of 
self  sacrifice  or  charity  is  recognized  as  the  princi- 
ple supplementary  to  justice  and  as  the  moving 
principle  in  the  upliftment  of  society. 

|  Whatever  may  be  the  grade  of  thought  of  the 
individual,  whether  he  consciously  formulates  an 
ethical  principle  or  not,  his  acts  conform  to  some 
kind  of  an  ethical  principle.  And  at  each  step 
there  is  before  him  another  possible  way  of  acting; 
there  is  before  him  an  ideal.  This  ideal  may  be 
rendered  more  clear  and  definite  because  of  the ' 
example  of  some  one  or  more  of  soeiety;  it  may 
come  from  a  clearer  conception  of  the  manner  that 
the  welfare  of  self  may  be  promoted  by  closer  con- 
nection with  the  external  means  of  development,  as 
the  authority  of  the  state,  the  revealed  will  of  God 
or  of  the  manner  that  this  welfare  may  be  promoted 
by  securing  greater  happiness,  or  activity  to  the 

-y*  OP  TfiB       • 

UMVBRSITT] 


16  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

self  through  a  use  of  nature  and  society;  also  this 
ideal  may  come  from  a  keener  insight  into  what  is 
meant  by  the  personality  of  man,  what  is  the  object* 
or  end  for  which  man  was  created,  how  men  can 
secure  that  development  which  is  possible,  because 
of  the  infinite  possiblities  of  thought,  and  what  are 
the  definite  means  in  the  case  of  each  individual 
for  receiving  the  spiritual  influence  of  a  whole  race. 
There  is  thus  possible  to  the  individual  an  ideal — : 
an  absolute  ideal.  This  ideal  is  no  less  than  per- 
fection— perfect  as  a  finite  developing  individual ;  a 
being  whose  thoughts  originate  no  motives  not  in 
sympathy  with  the  better-being  of  all,  and  whose 
will  never  fails  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  good 
of  all. 

With  each  step  of  the  realization  of  an  ideal 
there  is  a  change  in  that  ideal;  but  since  there  are 
infinite  possibilities  before  the  individual,  progress 
never  ceases. 

The  progress  in  the  application  of  the  ethical 
rule  may  be  seen  by  comparing  different  and  also 
widely  separated  epochs  of  history. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  ethical  principle, 
"custom,"  "virtue,"  "moderation,"  "happiness," 
"will  of  God,"  "  authority  of  the  state,"  "conscience," 
"something  inherent  in  the  nature  of  things," 
"benevolence,"  "intuition,"  "reason," — every  eth- 
ical principle  formulated  in  the  past    and  present 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE.  17 

has  attempted  to  do  the  same  thing,  to  serve  as  a 
guide  in  the  will  of  man.  We  can  see  in  different 
nations  and  peoples  stages  of  development  in  the 
application  of  what  we  have  called  the  ethical  prin- 
ciple. 

A  few  decades  even  show  changes  in  the  appli- 
cation of  the  ethical  rule.  The  "  higher  education  " 
of  woman  shows  this  process.  Largely  due  to  the 
struggles  and  self-sacrifice  of  a  few  heroic  women 
in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  the  gen- 
eral sentiment  of  the  country  and  the  world  is 
undergoing  a  change  in  reference  to  the  intellectual 
ability  of  woman.  All  changes  may  not  indicate 
ethical  progress;  but  any  education  for  woman, 
however  advanced,  that  does  not  change  the  direc- 
tion of  development  of  those  inherently  woman  - 
characteristics  which  have  blessed,  and  do  bless, 
the  world  must  be  ethical  in  its  tendency. 

The  question  of  temperance  may  also  be  taken 
as  an  illustration.  While  there  is  much  oppor- 
tunity for  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  means 
that  have  been  used  to  bring  about  a  higher  ideal 
of  what  constitutes  a  subjection  of  the  physical 
wants  to  the  will,  yet  no  one  can  doubt  that  on 
this  question  a  higher  sentiment  exists  to-day  than 
existed  fifty  years  ago. 

Many  illustrations  might  be  given  of  like  changes 
of  sentiment  in  reference  to  other  questions  of  the 


18  THE  ETHICAL  PEINCIPLE. 

day:  and  wherever  changes  have  been  brought 
about  in  the  direction  of  true  ethical  progress,  it 
would  be  found,  could  the  process  be  traced,  that 
the  beginning  of  such  changes  involved  on  the  part 
of  one  or  more,  labor  and  the  yielding  of  one's  own 
immediate  interests  for  the  good  of  others  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree. 

And  if  we  notice  longer  periods  of  history,  the 
same  story  will  be  told.  Take  the  matter  of  phys- 
ical exercise,  the  training  and  development  of  the 
body.  The  fakir  of  the  Orient,  bound  by  super- 
stitions and  false  ideas  of  self-sacrifice,  makes  the 
body  an  instrument  of  torture. 

In  the  repose  of  the  fully  developed  physical, 
the  Greek  saw  the  subjection  of  the  body  to  the 
the  spirit,  and  the  beauty  of  this  harmonious 
development  became  to  him  the  highest  object  of 
attainment. 

As  if  typifying  the  unseen  and  unknown  chan- 
nels of  action,  which  the  various  institutions  of 
feudal  society  should  follow,  the  cumbrous  armor 
of  the  knightly  warriors  concealed  and  made 
burdensome  the  body  whose  end  should  be  for 
the  use  and  not  for  the  hindrance  of  the  free 
spirit. 

The  present  day  sees  still  another  ideal  for  the 
physical.  The  culture  of  the  body  goes  alongside 
the   culture   of   the   mind.      The   ideal   does   not 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE.  19 

demand  the  exercise  of  the  gymnasium  as  an  end 
in  itself,  that  the  body  may  receive  the  complete 
development  demanded  by  Greek  art,  nor  the 
athletic  strength  that  the  championship  of  base 
ball,  foot  ball  or  boat  race  demands,  but  such  phys- 
ical culture  as  produces  a  sound  body,  that  thereby 
greater  physical  and  mental  strength  may  be 
expended  for  the  good  of  society. 

And,  again,  the  different  customs  of  nations  in 
reference  to  slavery,  serve  as  an  illustration  of 
the  progress  in  the  application  of  the  ethical 
principle.  .    ►,     .,,- 

Even  the  conception  of  Absolute  Good  held  by 
Plato,  did  not  prevent  him  from  arranging  his  ideal 
state  with  classes  of  menials  and  slaves.  The  Roman 
triumph  was  not  complete  without  the  captives  of 
war  becoming  slaves.  And  in  the  customs  of  the 
feudal  system,  it  is  difficult  to  tell  which  was  man 
and  which  was  land. 

The  conception  of  each  man's  complete  owner- 
ship and  control  of  his  own  body  has  been  of  slow 
growth.  Our  own  nation  has  witnessed  a  most 
Violent  struggle  necessary  to  carry  the  idea  of  per- 
sonal freedom,  ownership  of  self,  into  effect.  The 
ethics  of  nearly  all  nations  now  insist  that  the 
good  of  the  state  is  better  secured  by  the  free- 
dom of  all  than  by  the  slavery  of  some  of  the 
members. 


20  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

And  a  similar  change  in  the  direction  of  greater 
realization  of  freedom  may  be  seen  in  the  method 
of  the  government  of  the  State.  Patriarchal  gov- 
ernment, petty  rulers,  suzerains,  absolute  monarchs 
and  pure  democracies  are  for  the  most  part  among 
the  things  of  the  past.  Even  in  the  most  perfectly 
organized  representative  form  of  government  of  the 
present  day  evils  are  abundant.  But  the  form  of 
such  a  government,  at  least,  grants  opportunity  to 
the  members  of  the  state  for  a  self- development  in 
freedom. 

The  life  of  an  individual  may  show  change, 
progress;  that  progress  is  slow  when  compared 
with  the  possibilities  of  development.  And  how 
much  less  rapid  ateo  are  the  changes  in  institutions 
of  society !  Even  a  life  of  most  mature  culture  and 
most  noble  acts  shows  a  great  incompleteness,  when 
compared  with  the  possible  development  of  that 
individual.  And  since  m  the  very  individuality  of— 
the  person,  there  is  the  power  to  resist  the  environ- 
ment, or  to  make  it  subservient  to-ih^-self,  a  capa- 
bility of  persistence  under  change  and  at  the  same 
time  capability  to  so  react  upon  the-self  that  the 
self  is  thereby  self-produced,  what  is  there  to  indi- 
cate that  this  process  of  self- making  ever  ceases  f 
Failure  to  adapt  one's  self  to  his  environment  pro- 
duces death,  it  is  said;  but  if  &e~Belf  is  his  own 
environment,  the  adaptation  is  always  possible  to  a 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE.  21 

greater  or  less  degree  depending  upon  the  strength 
of  the  individuali|£.  J&d  if  the  individual  makes 
himself,  and  if  there  are  before  him  infinite  possi- 
bilities of  development,  why  do  not  these  very  facts 
presuppose  the  immortality  of  the  individual  ?j  That 
the  history  of  institutions  of  society  is  a  record 
of  the  beginning  of  an  eternal  process  of  develop- 
ment? 


22  THE  ETHICAL  PKINCIPLE. 


III. 

THE  INSTITUTIONS  OF  SOCIETY:  THE  FAM- 
ILY, THE  SCHOOL,  THE  STATE  AND  THE 
CHURCH;  IN  ALL  HIS  RELATIONS  IN 
THESE  INSTITUTIONS,  THE  INDIVIDUAL 
MAY  EXEMPLIFY  THE  ETHICAL  PRIN- 
CIPLE. 

From  earliest  years  the  thoughts  and  deeds  of 
the  individual  are  instigated  aDd  re -enforced  by 
those  around  him.  The  child  is  born  into  the 
family:  the  kind  of  family  is  altogether  beyond  the 
choice  of  the  individual.  The  child  of  the  savage 
and  of  the  most  cultured  and  refined  parents  has 
in  each  case  the  potentialities  of  a  human  soul. 
The  self  activity  of  each  has  certain  tendencies 
through  heredity;  but  the  family  life  does  much  to 
shape  the  direction  of  development.  The  child 
learns  in  the  family  the  use  of  language,  habits  of 
order  and  obedience,  the  manner  of  conducting  him- 
self toward  other  members  of  the  family  and  society. 
Unless  the  child  learns  to  subordinate  his  will  to  the 
will  of  those  older  and  wiser,  he  either  must  learn  this 
lessen  through  a  humilating  process  later  in  life,  or 
he  will  fail  to  render  that  amount  of  assistance  to 
society  that  would  have  been  otherwise  possible. 


THE  INSTITUTIONS  OF  SOCIETY.  28 

The  training  of  the  family  should  enable  the 
child  to  make  a  successful  transition  from  a  state 
of  mere  obedience  and  customary  goodness,  to  a 
conscious  application  of  the  ethical  rule  in  this  lim- 
ited sphere  of  his  activity. 

The  school,  as  an  institution  of  society,  has  not 
the  same  fundamental  character  as  the  family,  or 
state,  or  church.  It  is  a  voluntary  institution,  and 
its  work  can  be  done,  though  less  adequately,  in 
one  of  the  other  institutions.  The  instruction  of 
the  school  is  designed  to  supplement  and  extend 
the  training  begun  in  the  family.  Whatever  the 
kind  of  school,  its  especial  assistance  to  the  indi- 
vidual lies  in  the  degree  to  which  the  activity  of 
the  child  and  youth  is  called  forth  and  turned  into 
such  channels  that  his  deeds  harmonize  with  the 
true  development  of  others.  _ 

Every  child  is  born  into  a  State  just  as  truly  as 
into  a  family.  This  State  may  be  merely  patriar- 
chal, or  it  may  be  communal,  or  it  may  be  a  well- 
organized  monarchy,  aristocracy,  democracy,  or  re- 
public. Whatever  the  form  of  the  State,  the  child- 
life  begins  in  a  more  or  less  inclusive  organic  unity 
— and  this  unity,  in  however  feeble  a  degree,  shows 
the  functions  and  relations  of  the  most  highly  de- 
veloped and  organized  State.  The  State  presents 
the.  widest  possible  sphere  for  the  activities  of  the 
individual^    The  innumerable  relations  of  social, 


24  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

civil,  industrial,  and  political  life  inhere  in  this 
organic  unity.  The  extent  to  which  the  individual 
enters  into  any  or  all  of  these  relations  depends 
upon  the  strength  of  his  individuality.  He  may 
enter  into  the  thought  and  purposes  of  the  whole 
only  sufficiently  to  call  upon  the  sympathies  of  the 
other  members  of  the  State,  and  the  State,  recog- 
nizing his  possibilities  as  a  human  being,  expresses 
its  thought  of  justice  in  support  at  the  almshouse 
or  some  other  fitting  public  institution. 

The  individual  may  enter  6imply  into  industrial 
and  very  limited  social  relations  with  others.  The 
State  attempts  to  establish  such  conditions  that  an 
equilibrium  of  rights  may  be  preserved;  in  the 
social  relations,  that  there  may  be  freedom  of  com- 
munion and  friendly  intercourse;  and  in  the  indus- 
trial relations,  freedom  to  each  one  in  his  own  kind 
of  activity,  both  in  placing  in  the  world's  market 
that  energy  of  brain  or  muscle,  and  the  products  of 
these  powers,  and  in  receiving  from  that  market  an 
exact  equivalent  for  the  expended  energy. 

The  individual  may  enter  not  only  the  social  and 
industrial  but  also  into  all  forms  of  civil  and  poli- 
tical relations;  in  these  relations  one  may  so  tho- 
roughly enter  into  the  thoughts  and  purposes  of 
the  whole  that  he  may,  through  the  strength  of  his 
individuality,  reflect  the  will  of  many;  but  the  State, 
recognizing  the  limitations  of  the  human  mind, 


THE  INSTITUTIONS  OE    SOCIETY.  25 

marks  out  the  channels  beyond  which  one  may  not 
go  in  g  the  exercise  of  municipal,  state  or  national 
rights  and  duties. 

While  all  these  avenues  of  assistance  are  open  to 
the  individual,  he  may  disregard  all  the  conditions 
for  entering  into  even  the  least  of  them,  and 
through  his  wicked  deeds,  destroy  his  connections 
with  the  true  unity  of  the  State;  the  State  then 
must  still  allow  him  to  receive  his  own  deeds,  and 
so  makes  known  the  fact  that  the  individual  has 
separated  himself  from  society,  by  shutting  him  up 
in  prison,  or,  if  he  has  completely  severed  the  union 
with  other"  *>y  faking  the  life  of  another  without 
justifying  circumstances,  the  State  muot  still  place 
upon  him  his  deeds  and  take  his  life. 

The  State  or  Nation,  into  however  many  parts  it 
may  be  divided  for  convenience  at  any  time  of  its 
development,  is  an  institution  of  all  people.  The 
ideal  church  is  also  an  institution  that  includes  all 
souls;  the  real  church,  or  the  church  at  any  given 
point  of  history,  includes  only  those  who  voluntar- 
ily enter  into  union  and  receive  into  their  wills  the 
principles  of  the  Divine  Second  Person.  The  indi- 
vidual may  enter  into  the  visible  or  historic  church 
by  expressing  his  willingness  to  coniform  to  the 
established  beliefs,  forms  and  creeds;  a  person 
enters  the  invisible  church  whenever,  in  the  true 
Christ  spirit,  he  sacrifices  his  selfish  desires  and 


26  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

interests  to  help  some  other  soul  into  a  larger  and 
better  life. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  the  visible  and  the 
invisible  church  is  the  same — the  nurture  of  souls 
into  a  life  of  divine  love  and  holiness;  and  the 
individual  who  enters  the  church  places  himself  in 
a  position  to  receive  na  an  if  old,  spiritual  influences, 
and  to  contribute  his  share  to  the  upbuilding  of  a 
spiritual  kingdom.  The  work  of  the  church  is 
fcktts  not  contrary  or  antagonistic  to  the  work  of 
the  State,  but  each  in  its  own  way  helps  the  indi- 
vidual in  his  work  of  self- development.! 


THE  STATE.    ;  27 


IV. 

THE  STATE*  AS  A  MORAL  PERSONALITY 
PROTECTS  THE  INDIVIDUAL  AND  ALSO 
SECURES  TO  THE  INDIVIDUAL  THE  OP- 
PORTUNITY FOR  FULL  SELF-DEVELOP- 
MENT  


A.        NATURE     OF    THE    STATE;    AND    GENERAL    LINES    OF 
STATE    ACTION. 

A, nation  is  not  a  mere  aggregation  of  individuals, 
but  a  consicious  moral  personality.  The  conscious 
life  of  a  nation  is  continuous ;  the  unity  of  its  organic 
structure  becomes  more  evident  from  generation  to 
generation.  A  nation  is  all-inclusive;  all  members 
of  society  are  in  the  organic  unity.  While  a 
nation  as  in  the  child- stage  of  development,  a  rude 
savage,  wandering  people,  the  unity  of  thought  is 
manifested  on  very  low  planes,  a  union  sufficient  to 
provide  in  a  meager  way  for  the  physical  needs. 
But  as  a  nation  reaches  a  more  complete  stage 
of  development,  the  diversified  wants  and  interests 
show  a  varied  and  yet  comprehensive  unity  of  pur- 
pose and  life. 

*  The  thoughts  as  to  the  character  of  the  State  are 
largely  obtained  from  Mulford's  "  The  Nation," 


28  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

External  surroundings,  climate,  geographical 
position,  character  of  soil,  etc.,  do  much  to  regu- 
late the  size  of  a  nation,  but  the  external  circum- 
stances determine  neither  the  size  nor  character  of 
a  people.  The  direction  and  extent  of  the  develop- 
ment of  a  nation  are  determined  by  the  people 
themselves.  The  inherent  differences  of  thought 
and  character  of  a  French  people  and  a  German 
people,  preserve  a  French  nation  and  a  German 
nation  in  spite  of  the  geographical  proximity. 
Even  after  centuries  of  enforced  union  does  not  the 
same  fact  present  itself  in  reference  to  Ireland  and 
England? 

While  a  nation  is  in  the  patriarchal  stage  it  is 
difficult  to  distinguish  the  family  from  the  state; 
the  difference  is  in  the  functions,  and  not  necessar- 
ily in  the  number  or  variety  of  members.  The 
work  of  an  individual  as  member  of  the  state  is 
different  from  that  as  member  of  a  family.  In 
comparison  with  the  state,  the  family  presents  a 
narrow  field  for  action,  even  in  the  early  develop- 
ment of  the  state.  \  The  stronger  individuality 
becomes  a  leader  or  ruler,  and  minor  officers  or 
helpers  soon  arise  and  some  form  of  government  is 
established.  This  primitive  people  may  pass 
through  many  stages,  as  the  communal,  aristocrati- 
cal,  feudal,  monarchial,  democratic,  and  yet  pre- 
serve   its    original    characteristics,    its    unity    of 


THE  STATE.  29 

purpose  which  made  it  a  nation  from  the  begin- 
ning. Our  own  nation  may  serve  as  an  illustration. 
When  did  the  United  States  begin  as  a  nation? 
The  adoption  of  the  Federal  constitution  was  a 
step  in  the  process.  Is  it  not  also  generally 
recognized  now,  that  the  civil  war  with  its  results 
was  also  another  evidence  of  the  underlying  unity  of, 
thought  in  our  nation  ?  And  can  it  be  said  even 
now  that  the  unity  of  thought  that  must  have 
existed  from  the  beginning  of  the  nation,  is  fully 
made  real  on  the  will-side,  or  in  the  phases  of  prac- 
tical intercourse  in  the  political  and  industrial 
relations  ?  But  who  can  tell  when  the  unity  of 
thought  which  binds  our  nation  began?  That 
underlying  thought  is  freedom — religious,  political, 
freedom  of  body,  and  industrial  freedom.  Did  it 
begin  with  the  company  at  Plymouth,  at  Delft 
Haven,  or  in  resistance  to  the  tyranny  of  the  Eng- 
lish monarch  ?  Or  did  our  nation  become  a  nation 
at  some  point  in  the  colonial  history — the  confed- 
eracy of  New  England,  the  resistance  to  the  stamp 
act,  the  declaration  of  independence,  the  signing  of 
the  articles  of  confederation?  The  beginnings  are 
beyond  analysis,  but  the  nation's  existence  is  no 
less  evident,  and  its  reality  and  strength  is  in  the 
thought  and  purpose  that  is  manifested  in  different 
degrees  of  intensity  in  its  different  stages  of 
development.     And  each  nation  that  has  existed 


30  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

shows  in  the  history  of  its  life  some  conscious  or 
ruling  thought  which  directs  the  energies  of  the 
nation  as  a  whole. 

As  the  essence  of  the  individual  will  is  freedom, 
so  the  foundation  of  the  nation  is  in  freedom.  The 
true  freedom  of  the  individual  is  made  real  only  as 
the  individual  thinks,  loves,  and  acts  in  accordance 
with  truth  and  goodness;  so  a  nation  is  only  filling 
its  true  place  in  history  as  it  attempts  to  establish 
conditions  in  which  each  individual  may  realize  the 
highest  possibilities  of  his  being.  A  system  of 
caste,  as  in  India,  only  allows  a  few  to  find  out  the 
power  of  their  own  thought.  A  monarch  like  Louis 
XIV.,  crushes  the  expression  of  individuality  in 
nearly  all  the  members  of  the  state.  The  strength 
and  ruggedness  of  a  Germanic  barbarian  horde 
shows  the  human  will  undisciplined  by  righteous 
customs  and  laws.  Holland,  under  William  of 
Orange,  shows  a  nation  realizing  religious  freedom. 
Since  the  emancipation  proclamation  of  '63  and 
the  fifteenth  amendment  of  our  Constitution,  our 
nation  shows  a  race  rejoicing  in  freedom  of  owner- 
ship of  their  own  bodies,  and  in  nominal  political 
freedom. 

v — 

Each  step  of  the  realization  of  the  potentialities 
of  a  human  being  or  of  a  nation,  is  the  expression 
of  the  rights  of  that  being  or  nation.  The  indi- 
vidual or  nation  has  these  rights  because  of  per- 


THE  STATE.  31 

sonality;  all  rights  that  inhere  in  the  will  of  man 
are  natural  rights.  Some  of  these  rights  are  ren- 
dered positive  by  expression  in  the  laws  of  a  nation; 
others  are  expressed  only  in  manners  and  customs. 
A  man  has  certain  rights  by  virtue  of  his  existence, 
and  these  cannot  be  taken  from  him  without  a 
destruction  of  life,  i  Other  rights  become  mani- 
fested because  of  strength  of  individuality-;  these 
rights  may  be  expressed  without  a  violation  of  jus- 
tice, unless  the  assertion  of  these  rights  takes  away 
the  essential  rights  of  another;  or,  these  rights 
which  might  be  expressed  because  of  great  indi- . 
viduality  may  remain  as  thoughts  in  the  mind,  and 
the  formal  expression  be  voluntarily  checked. 

In  union  with  others  in  the  nation,  the  individual 
has  the  widest  opportunity  of  expressing  his  rights. 
The  nation  as  a  whole  guards  and  protects  the 
rights  of  the  different  members  and  classes,  and 
secures  ever-widening  channels  for  the  expression  of 
these-  rights.  In  the  power  of  the  thought  of  the 
whole,  in  its  self- direction,  rests  the  sovereignty  of 
the  nation.  This  sovereignty,  or  the  conscious 
self-determination  of  the  nation,  organizes,  directs, 
sustains,  and  regulates  the  various  relations  of  men 
with  men.  It  considers  the  relation  of  the  "  gifts 
of  nature  " — land,  water,  etc. — to  the  wants  of  men, 
and  attempts  to  secure  to  all  an  impartial  use  of 
its  domain. 


32  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

The  true  sovereignty  rests  in  the  thought  and 
will  of  the  people  as  a  whole.  In  governments 
that  are  not  truly  democratic  or  truly  representa- 
tive the  external  manifestations  of  sovereignty,  or 
power,  often  rest  with  one  or  with  a  few.  The 
more  nearly  absolute  the  power  of  the  ruler,  the 
more  the  probability  that  the  rights  of  the  indi- 
vidual or  of  classes  will  be  disregarded  and  ignored. 

The  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  the  individual 
rights  of  the  nineteenth  century  represent  a  long 
struggel  of  the  past  centuries,  in  which  the  many 
have  contended  for  their  rights  against  the  selfish 
absorption  of  those  rights  by  the  one  or  by  the  few. 
In  the  Orient,  correspondent  to  the  lack  of  a  dis- 
tinct idea  of  personality,  the  struggle  is  for  the 
rights  of  one  caste  as  against  another  caste,  as  in 
India;  or  even  one  nation  is  apparently  merged 
into  another  nation,  as  when  the  Jews  were  made 
captive  by  the  Assyrians. 

In  Greece,  while  a  learned  few  had  a  true  con- 
ception of  the  personality  of  man,  for  the  most 
part  the  people  did  not  look  upon  themselves  each 
as  a  unit  necessary  to  the  nation  as  a  whole;  there- 
fore the  struggle  for  rights  was  that  of  one  city 
against  another  city,  as  the  contest  for  supremacy 
between  Athens  and  Sparta. 

The  Roman  world  represents  another  phase  in 
the  conscious  apprehension  of  what  constitutes  the 


THE  STATE.  33 

rights  of  the  individual.  An  equality  in  the  light 
of  the  established  law  is  the  watchword  of  Roman 
civilization,  hence  the  great  desire  and  honor  of 
becoming  a  Roman  citizen.  But  the  process  of  the 
assertion  of  fundamental  rights,  whether  recog- 
nized by  the  established  code  or  not,  changed  and 
rechanged  the  form  of  the  government  of  Rome; 
this  process  began  with  the  withdrawal  of  the 
plebeans  to  the  Aventine  and  culminated  in  the 
social   war,  B.    C.    90.* 

The  teachings  of  Christ  enforced  the  thought  of 
individual  responsibility  with  greater  emphasis  than 
it  had  been  taught  before  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
The  positive  command,  "follow  thou  me,"  and  the 
impressive,  "  Thou  art  the  man,''  have  been  a  con- 
tinual lesson,  at  least  for  the  will- side  of  the  human 
mind,  as  to  the  significance  of  true  personality. 
This  thought  over- reached  itself  in  two  extremes  in 
the  ten  or  twelve  hundred  years  following  the  advent 
of  Christ;  the  early  monks  and  ascetics,  failing  to 
recognize  the  means  necessary  for  the  development 
of  individuality,  shut  themselves  away  from  the  es- 
tablished channels  of  spiritual  communication,  and 
so  became  mere  dwarfs  compared  with  the  personal- 
ities they  might  have  been;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
later  popes,  filled  with  the  idea  of  the  importance 

*  Fiske's  "  American  Political  Ideas,"  p.  79. 


34 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


of  the  one  individual,  desired  to  absorb  not  only  all 
spiritual  power  but  also  all  temporal  power  into 
the  one  person. 

But  the  thought  of  individual  responsibility, 
when  united  with  the  wild  freedom  inherent  in  the 
Germanic  mind,  produced  characters  such  as,  in 
the  many  struggles  of  the  last  six  centuries  for 
individual  rights,  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  one 
ruler,  or  of  a  few  lords,  has  not  been  able  to  with- 
stand. Each  of  these  centuries  tells  its  own  story; 
the  scene  at  Runnymede,  with  different  settings,  has 
been  enacted  over  and  over  again.  Significant  among 
the  early  struggles  was  that  made  evident  by  the 
Wat  Tyler  insurrection;  "two  of  the  instruments 
by  which  man  attains  his  freedom" — the  right  of 
freedom  of  contract  and  the  right  of  private  owner- 
ship in  property — were  slowly  receiving  recognition 
and  outward  expression.  The  grand  fiery  outbursts 
of  Luther  proclaimed  to  the  world  the  beginning 
of  the  era  of  religious  freedom. 

In  the  later  centuries  it  is  difficult  to  find  a 
decade  that  does  not  tell  of  at  least  a  minor  triumph 
of  individual  rights  over  extreme  concentration  of 
power.  The  desire  for  expression  of  individuality 
may  become  mere  individualism  as  in  the  French 
revolution;  or  this  desire  may  become  a  quiet  and 
persistent  demand  for  just  and  legitimate  rights,  as 
when  William  and  Mary  were  forced  to  grant  the 


THE  STATE.  35 

1 'bill  of  rights"  in  1688;  or  again,  a  revolutionary 
war  may  be  necessary  to  establish  conditions  under 
which  an  attempt  at  securing  religious,  political, 
and  industrial  liberty,  may  be  made. 

The  struggle  for  the  rights  of  the  many  as 
against  the  few  is  not  yet  over.  With  a  higher 
and  higher  grade  of  education  for  society  as  a 
whole,  there  will  be  a  deeper  recognition  of  the 
power  inherent  in  the  individual,  and  this  progress 
will  be  indicated  by  a  demand  for  a  larger  and  larger 
scope  for  the  exercise  of  this  activity.  No  limita- 
tion except  that  which  comes  from  finiteness  can 
thus  be  placed  upon  the  rights  that  are  natural  to 
the  human  mind.  When  the  nature  aDd  scope  of 
the  rights  expressing  series  of  complex  relations  of 
the  members  of  society,  become  positive  through  a 
definite  expression  in  law,  then  there  exists  a 
standard  by  which  an  infringement  of  the  rights  of 
another  may  be  measured  and  punished.  The 
struggles  of  different  epochs,  noticed  above  as  illus- 
trations, show  the  point  of  time  at  which  these 
rights  received  that  definite  expression  in  law. 
The  ideal  standard  for  this  expression  in  law  is 
that  perfect  justice  shall  be  secured  to  all.  Since 
man  is  a  being  eternally  progressive,  the  steps  in 
historical  progress  can  only  show  an  approximation 
to  this  ideal.  The  thought  of  any  one  generation 
cannot   grasp   all   the  elements  that  go  to   make 


36 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


perfect  justice  for  a  human  being,  and,  what  is 
even  more  difficult,  any  one  generation  cannot  so 
arrange  the  conditions  that  beings  endowed  with 
free  wills  shall  develop,  in  freedom,  and  not  at  the 
same  time  destroy  the  results  of  the  freedom  of 
others.  With  such  an  ideal  justice  as  the  most 
comprehensive  insight  of  the  wisest  can  grasp,  one 
generation  builds  upon  the  experience  of  the  preced 
ing  generations,  and  expresses  these,  broader  con- 
ceptions of  justice  in  the  ever-changing  laws  of  the 
nation. 

These  broader  conceptions,  when  expressed  in 
law,  become  plainly  evident  to  all,  and  about  the 
final  triumphant  struggle  in  each  instance  there  is 
no  doubt ;  but  is  the  process  by  which  these  victor- 
ies iu  favor  of  individual  rights  are  gained,  always 
so  clearly  seen?  However  this  process  may  be 
designated,  in  this  process  is  the  initial  strength 
and  the  potentialities  of  all  the  results.  It  may  be 
said  that  an  abuse  of  power  by  the  one,  or  by  the 
few,  leads  to  a  revolt  against  tyranny.  That  is 
without  doubt  a  step  in  the  process.  But  how  is  the 
uprising  brought  about?  There  is  in  the  human 
mind  a  natural  inertia  and  a  reverence  for  estab- 
lished customs  that  tend  to  keep  man  in  his  present 
condition.  Is  not  the  process  of  changing  these 
customs  always  the  same,  traced  with  greater  or 
less   clearness  by  the   historian  ?     The  one  or  the 


THE  STATE.  37 

few  in  a  given  epoch  see  what  ';  ought  to  be  "  for 
the    different  members  of  society,  and  voluntarily 
set    about    establishing    such    conditions   that   the 
"  ought  to  be  "  becomes  the  "  is."     And  this  always 
involves  labor,  self  sacrifice,  and  perhaps  the  vol- 
untary yielding  of  life  itself,   before  the  ideas  take 
deep  root  in  the  heads   and  hearts  of    a  sufficient 
number   to    constitute    public   opinion.     The  man 
with  a  strong    insight  into  what  ought   to  be  for 
society,  may  see  a  condition  that  can  only  come 
with  years  or  perhaps  centuries  of  labor.     The  true 
reformer  joins  a  practical  judgment  with  insight, 
and  attempts  to  fit  upon  present  conditions  changes 
for  the  immediate  future.     His  aspirations  are  for 
the  betterment  of  society;  he  includes  others  than 
self.     He  sees  the  real  condition  of  others,  he  sees 
the  attainable  ideal;  he  strives  to  make  the  ideal  the 
real.     He  must '  arouse  in  those  about  him  a  con- 
ception of  what  they  ought  to  be.    He  must  meet  the 
conservatism  of  established  opinions ;  he  suffers  for 
"conscience's  sake."     He  perhaps  yields  his  place 
to  another  without  seeing  one  of  the  principles  for 
which  he  has  labored  and  sacrificed,  firmly  estab- 
lished as  "rights  of  the  people."     But  since  the 
human  mind  is  as  it  is,  could  the  result  have  been 
achieved  without  such  work  and  sacrifice  by  some 
one  ?     However  mingled  may  be  the  motives,  what 
but  "  the  good  of  others,"  the  preference  of  reflected 


38  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

good  for  immediate  good,  can  produce  such  results  ? 
Is  it  not  an  exemplification  of  grace,  true  charity, 
the  complement  of  the  expressions  of  justice  in 
law? 

Any  of  the  epochs  of  history  characterized  as 
periods  of  change,  revolutions,  "cession  of  rights," 
might  be  taken  as  illustrations.  The  difficulty 
of  determining  and  analyzing  motives,  the 
"mighty  silent  forces,"  presents  an  obstacle  to 
such  study.  Most  historians  are  concerned  with 
the  external  battles,  the  battles  of  arms,  and  pass 
over  in  silence  the  battles  in  the  souls  of  the  real 
leaders  in  the  conflict.  However  hidden,  these 
motives  are  the  moving  principles  of  progress  in 
the  development  of  the  state;  when  these  thoughts 
are  established  in  customs  and  formulated  in  the 
laws,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  understand  and 
interpret  the  position  and  progress  of  a  nation. 

Justice  is  then  the  fundamental  principle  of  the 
state  or  nation.  The  state,  in  its  organized  forms 
of  expression,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  motives 
of  the  individuals  comprising  the  organic  whole. 
The  state  measures  the  external  act,  and  its 
province  is  to  see  that  the  acts  of  each  are  in 
accordance  with  the  true  freedom  of  all.  While 
the  state  in  its  sphere  of  justice  does  not  concern 
itself  with  the  motives,  yet  it  recognizes  that  the 
ideal  for  the  State  is  such  an  agreement   between 


THE  STATE.  39 

motive  and  act  that  the  highest  good  of  all  shall  be 
realized.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is  no  other 
way  by  which  this  conformity  of  motive  and  act 
can  be  brought  about,  except  by  a  process  of  edu- 
cation and  development  of  each  individual.  This 
is  the  fact  that  has  been  so  often  ignored  in  the  at- 
tempts to  place  in  an  external  form  of  government 
such  schemes  as  extreme  state  socialism,  commuism, 
etc, — schemes  whose  fundamental  principles  from 
their  nature  cannot  be  fully  externalized  in  organ- 
ized form,  but  must  remain  as  motives  and  indi- 
vidual acts.  In  so  far  as  true  socialistic  thoughts 
and 'feelings  exist,  they  become  in  time  expressed 
in  acts  which  modify  the  form  of  government  by 
obtaining  an  expression  more  nearly  in  justice  to 
all  members  of  the  state. 

But  when  the  attempt  is  for  socialistic  form  of 
government  when  the  spirit  of  the  people  is  not  ■ 
truly  socialistic,  directly  opposite  results  are 
obtained.  For  when  the  State  attempts  to  arrange 
the  machinery  of  government  as  if  all  the  members 
were  actuated  by  a  single  purpose,  and  that  pur- 
pose the  highest  good  of  humanity,  when  in  reality 
the  wills  of  the  people  are  not  so  disposed,  instead 
of  an  exemplification  of  this  principle  in  the  lives 
of  the  members  of  the  State,  these  individuals 
would.be  in  the  condition  of  the  opposite  extreme; 
that   is,   they  would   really  be  cut   off   from   the 


40  THE  ETHICAL  PBINICPLE. 

organic  unity,  would  be  in  the  same  condition  as  if 
they  had  shut  themselves  up  in  pride  and  self- 
exclusion,  because  the  form  of  government  had 
taken  away  the  opportunity  for  each  one  to  realize 
his  own  individuality  by  the  exercise  of  will  in 
freedom.  The  problem  then  is,  how  to  arrange 
the  machinery  of  government  so  that  the  State 
assists,  by  its  expressions  of  justice,  the  develop- 
ment of  true  individuality  in  all  its  members. 

While  in  the  social  organism,  "each  part  is 
reciprocally  means  and  end  to  every  other  part," 
the  extent  to  which  the  other  members  of  society 
are  a  means  and  end  to  the  individual,  and 'the 
individual  to  the  others,  depends  upon  the  attitude 
of  the  individual  to  the  other  members,  and  of  the 
whole  to  the  individual.  In  general  there  are 
three  attitudes  which  society  presents  to  the  indi- 
vidual, whether  expressed  in  the  form  of  written 
law  or  not. 

( 1 )  The  other  members  may  say  to  the  one 
member:  "  What  you  do  you  shall  have,  and  what 
we  do  we  shall  have,  each  for  himself,  and  in  so 
doing  we  shall  all  obtain  what  is  our  due,  and  the 
interests  of  the  whole  will  be  best'  advanced." 
This  is  the  principle  of  individualism,  which,  when 
exactly  followed,  is  the  principle  of  justice.  And 
if  each  one  receives  justly  what  is  his  due,  then 
the    organic   unity   through   its    institutions    has 


THE  STATE.  41 

nothing  to  do  in  establishing  justice,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  organism  which  have  sufficient  individ- 
uality to  receive  their  own  deeds,  .survive,  and 
those  who  through  their  position,  either  because  of 
circumstances  or  inheritance,  are  not  strong  enough 
to  produce  such  thoughts  or  acts  as  shall  return  to 
them  for  good,  must  perish,  while  the  "  fittest " 
because  of  great  individuality,  have  the  best  places 
in  the  organism,  because,  having  greater  inherent 
power,  they  can  receive  more. 

( 2 )  Owing  to  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and 
weakness  of  the  thought  and  will,  society  does  not 
keep  the  attitude  of  "  individualism "  toward  the 
one  member.  The  rights. of  others  mingle  and 
intersect  the  rights  of  one  at  so  many  points  that 
there  is  a  struggle  and  the  one  is  forcibly  deprived 
of  his  rights  by  the  many.  Society  is  thus  antago- 
nistic to  the  individual,  and  the  individual  no  longer 
thinks  and  feels  in  union  with  the  whole.  This 
is  the  condition  of  revolution  or  anarchy,  or,  in  its 
effects  upon  the  individual,  of  extreme  State  social- 
ism. "With  this  difference,  the  condition  of  anarchy 
results  from  too  little  assistance  to  the  individual  from 
society,  and  state  socialism  does  too  much ;  but  in 
either  case,  although  for  different  reasons,  the  individ- 
ual does  not  enter  into  the  thoughts  and  purposes  of 
the  whole,  the  anarchist  eventually,  because  he  will 
not,  the  extreme  nationalist  because  he  cannot. 


42  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

( 3 )  The  third  attitude  which  society  may  have 
toward  the  individual  is  that  of  helpfulness,  or 
the  condition  of  true  socialism — a  socialism  in  sub- 
stance, a  socialism  in  the  soul,  in  the  motives  of 
the  individual,  and  not  merely  in  state -form. 
Society  in  this  attitude  recognizes  that  the  whole 
is  stronger  than  the  individual  member  or  any 
part  or  class  in  society,  and  it  recognizes  that 
assistance  given  to  a  member,  or  to  a  class,  in 
order  that  the  weaker  portions  may  have  an 
opportunity  to  develop  their  activities,  not  only 
increases  the  thought  and  will  power  of  that  por- 
tion of  society,  but  also  the  power  of  the  whole. 
The  granting  of  the  assistance  to  the  weaker  mem- 
bers may  be  simply  justice  to  them,  but  in  the 
others  who  give  their  assistance  it  is  something 
more  thaD  justice,  it  is  a  voluntary  giving  up  of 
something  which  they  might  have  themselves,  and 
it  is  therefore  grace  or  true  charity.  And  here  is 
one  of  the  seeming  contradictions  in  the  process  of 
human  thought;  this  attitude  of  society  to  the 
individual  members  demands  that  the  sacrifice 
made  by  the  stronger  for  the  weaker,  must  be  for 
the  sake  of  the  weaker,  and  not  for  the  ultimate 
return  of  the  deed  upon  the  self,  or  else  the  end 
sought,  the  true  growth  of  all,  will  not  be  secured. 

As,  in  a  condition  of  society  where  the  principle 
of  individualism  is   exactly  carried  out  there  will 


THE  STATE. 


43 


be  perfect  justice,  so  in  a  condition  of  society 
where  each  member  knows  how  to  yield  his  own 
interests  sufficiently  to  secure  the  highest  good  of 
all,  and  he  voluntarily  surrenders  those  interests 
for  the  weaker  portions  of  society,  there  will  be 
nothing  for  the  State  to  do  in  expressing  and 
enforcing  repressive  laws;  but  since  it  is  difficult 
for  any  one  individual  or  any  one  generation  to 
find  out  what  will  assist  the  varying  conditions  of 
society,  and  since  the  members  are  not  all  moved 
by  the  spirit-  of  brotherly  love,  the  State  expresses 
not  only  the  necessary  constructive  laws  but  also 
repressive  or  protective  ones,  both  for  the  sake  of 
teaching  the  different  classes  what  the  true  inter- 
ests of  all  classes  are,  and  also  to  assist  them  to 
curb  their  selfish  desires. 

The  State  can  do  this,  because  in  its  forms  of 
action  it  eliminates  the  possibility  of  expression  of 
merely  personal  thoughts  and  feelings.  Its  legis- 
lators, executives,  and  judges,  shall  reflect  the  will 
of  the  people;  even  its  police  officers  and  execu- 
tioners shall  not  arrest  and  put  to  death  that  their 
personal  feelings  may  be  gratified,  but  that  they 
may  express  the  will  of  a  higher  personality  than 
themselves.  Even  if  it  must  be  granted  that  the 
law-makers  and  judiciaries  have  not  always  been 
true  to  the  will  of  the  people,  yet  a  study  of  the 
history  of  legislation  in  any  of  its  phases  discloses 


44  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPL1. 

the  fact  that  where  any  wise  and  lasting  law  has 
been  enacted,  there  has  been  involved  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  self- sacrifice  by  one  or  more  members 
of  society. 

But  this  principle  of  grace,  charity,  brotherly -love, 
self-sacrifice,  by  whatever  name  it  may  be  called, 
does  not  contradict  the  principle  of  justice  but  is 
its  complement.  The  voluntary  giving  up  for  the 
weaker  by  the  stronger  does  not  prevent  the  return 
of  the  deeds  of  the  stronger  to  themselves,  and  so 
justice  is  not  violated;  and  the  sacrifice  of  the 
stronger  for  the  weaker  does  enable  the  weaker  to 
act  in  sympathy  with  the  whole,  and  so  enables 
them  to  receive  their  own  deeds  and  in  turn  to  give 
to  the  still  weaker,  and  so  again  justice  is  not 
violated. 

The  laws  of  a  nation  are  the  standards  of  justice 
as  expressed  by  the  sovereign  voice  of  the  people. 
The  laws  of  the  nation  represent  the  intersection  of 
all  the  institutions  of  society,  the  family,  school, 
the  church,  and  the  organization  of  civil,  industrial 
and  political  relations  as  departments  of  the  State. 
The  conscious  progress  of  these  institutions  will 
therefore  be  reflected  in  the  laws.  By  studying 
the  changes  in  the  laws  in  reference  to  any  or  all 
of  the  relations  of  society,  essentially  the  same 
elements  may  be  found  in  the  process  of  change  in 
the  laws  that  are  in  the  line  of  true  progress.     In 


THE  STATE.  45 

the  study  of  the  ethical  phases  of  legislation,  the 
laws  may  be  considered  from  one  or  the  other,  or 
both  of  two  standpoints.  We  may  consider  the 
thought,  the  motives  of  the  chief  originators  or 
instigators,  so  far  as  any  record  can  be  obtained, 
and  so  find  whether  the  law  had  an  inception  in 
accordance  with  a  reasonable  ethical  principle,  or 
we  may  consider  the  effects  of  the  law  upon  the 
community,  or  we  may  attempt  both  methods. 
Any  law  which  originates  from  a  correct  insight 
into  the  needs  of  human  beings,  and  into  the 
legitimate  and  necessary  means  of  supplying  those 
needs,  or,  in  other  words,  any  law  which  is  truly 
ethical  in  its  origin  must  be  ethical  in  its  results. 
On  the  other  hand,  laws  originated  from  merely 
selfish  desires,  often  are  truly  ethical  in  their 
results  when  a  series  of  years  are  considered.  In 
a  consideration,  then,  of  the  inception  of  a  law, 
that  is,  the  process  of  forming  public  opinion,  the 
kinds  of  rights  expressed  and  defined  in  a  law,  and 
the  effects  of  a  law  upon  the  community  or  state, 
there  are  found  the  spheres  of  justice  and  grace 
in  their  relations  one  to  the  other,  when  externalized 
in  society. 

A  few  examples  taken  from  the  laws  of  our  own 
country  will  serve  as  illustrations.  There  are  two 
general  classes  of  laws  of  a  country,  whether  the 
laws  of  the  nation  or  commonwealth  are  considered: 


46  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

protective  laws  and  constructive  laws.  A  construc- 
tive law  is  protective,  but  also  positively  helpful  to 
one  or  more  classes  of  society;  a  protective  law  is 
negatively  helpful,  that  is,  it  preserves  to  people 
the  "  right  of  life,  liberty  [formal  freedom]  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness."  In  a  protective  law  we  find 
an  illustration  of  justice  simply;  in  a  constructive 
law  we  may  study  the  relations  of  justice  to  grace. 
(1)  A  protective  law  makes  explicit  rights  that  be- 
long to  man  because  of  existence.  A  construc- 
tive law  defines  and  makes  evident  rights  which 
enable  a  man  to  determine  himself  as  a  free  person- 
ality: (2)  some  of  these  rights  are  fundamental  and 
necessary  for  man  to  develop  in  independence  in 
union  with  other  men;  (3)  other  rights  are  desir- 
able, and  their  expression  assists  to  a  higher  devel- 
opment of  individuality  in  each  and  all  members  of 
society.  While  the  facts  and  structure  of  the 
human  mind  determine  largely  what  are  the  spe- 
cific rights,  and  therefore  the  character  of  the  laws 
which  define  the  first  two  classes  ( 1 )  ( 2 )  of  rights, 
the  rights  of  the  third  (3)  kind  can  only  be  deter- 
mined by  a  wise  insight  into  the  nature  and  limit 
of  the  first  two.  and  a  patient  study  of  the  past  to 
discover  the  effects  of  limiting  the  possible  power 
of  one  class  in  society  for  the  sake  of  the  develop- 
ment of  another  class. 

When  that  remarkable  committee  went  into  the 


THE  STATE.  47 

three  months'  session  in  Philadelphia  it  was  for  a 
consideration  of  this  very  question;  how  to  adjust 
the  rights  of  the  commonwealths  to  a  federal  gov- 
ernment. The  rights  of  the  first  two  classes  were 
more  completely  defined  in  existing  laws  of  other 
countries  and  of  the  colonies  than  those  of  the  third 
class;  but  the  former,  together  with  the  elements  of 
the  third  class  of  rights  already  defined,  needed  to 
be  gathered  into  one  compact  document — a  written 
constitution. 

And  the  fact  of  a  written  constitution  was  not 
entirely  new.  The  very  external  form  shows  that 
same  process  of  struggle  in  the  past,  the  effort  and 
self-sacrifice  of  some  one.  The  over-cautious  Crom- 
well, though  seeking  and  striving  for  freedom,  could 
only  recognize  it  as  coming  in  one  channel,  and  so 
he  refused  to  listen  to  the  entreaties  of  young  Sir 
Harry  Vane  to  adopt  a  written  constitution,  and 
the  world  waited  more  than  a  century  and  a 
quarter  for  a  successful  attempt  to  regulate 
the  rights  of  the  people  by  a  written  federal  con- 
stitution. 

In  the  following  brief  illustrations  let  us  notipe, 
first,  one  or  two  protective  measures,  and  second, 
examples  of  measures  necessarily  constructive  be- 
cause of  the  nature  of  free-will  and  man's  material 
environment,  and  third,  measures  that  the  processes 
of  time  and  experience  have  proved  constructive  of 


48  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

true  individuality,  and  therefore  constructive  of 
national  growth  and  development. 

Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  war — the 
war  may  be  aggressive,  retaliatory,  or  a  war  of  con- 
quest— of  whatever  kind,' this  expressed  right  says 
that  a  nation  may,  according  to  its  conception  of 
justice,  protect  itself,  may  react  upon  a  neighbor- 
ing people  and  return  their  own  deeds  to  them, 
may  even  extend  its  sway  over  surrounding  terri- 
tory on  the  ground,  that,  since  a  superior  civiliza- 
tion will  be  offered  to  the  conquered  people,  no 
principle  of  justice  will  be  violated. 

The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  hapeas  corpus  ex- 
presses the  right  that  each  man  has  to  acknowledge 
his  own  acts  in  the  presence  of  his  fellow- men,  and 
to  receive  the  verdict  of  his  judges  as  if  it  were  the 
voices  of  the  injured  parties.  That  the  writ  of 
hapeas  corpus  may  be  suspended  in  the  time  of 
danger,  is  an  attempt  to  approximate  justice.  That 
the  power  of  suspension  of  the  "  writ  of  hapeas 
corpus  "  should  rest  in  the  English  Parliament  is  a 
constructive  measure  in  that  it  indicates  that  the 
experience  of  the  past  had  shown  the  danger  of 
giving  that  power  into  the  hands  of  a  monarch. 

Protective  measures  are  oftener  expressed  in  sta- 
tute law  than  in  constitutional  law;  all  legislation 
simply  penal  for  infringements  upon  life  or  pro- 
perty, police  regulations,   provisions  for  standing 


THE  STATE.  49 

armies,  and  perhaps  one  aspect  of  laws  respecting 
taxation,  are  of  this  nature. 

But,  besides  the  just  return  to  the  gpvernment 
for  its  protective  offices,  laws  in  reference  to  taxa- 
tion show  also  the  constructive  power  resting  fa.  the 
government  of  a  nation.  No  better  illustration 
could  be  found  than  the  experience  of  the  colonies 
as  contrasted  with  early  days  after  the  adoption  of 
the  federal  constitution.  By  reason  of  the  lack  of 
a  unified  system  of  appropriations,  the  colonies 
often  failed  to  contribute  just  shares  towards  the 
expenses  incident  to  the  Revolutionary  war  and  to 
maintaining  the  government.  When  it  was  recog- 
nized that  the  power  of  demanding  this  pecuniary 
support  is  inherent  in  the  central  government,  new 
life  and  strength  was  infused  into  the  weakened 
organism.* 

Or,  must  we  consider  that  the  fact  that  the  gov- 
ernment must  have  money  for  organization  and 
equipment,  that  the  people  may  thereby  secure 
better  conditions  for  self  development,  the  only 
ground  for  the  justification  of  taxation?  Is  not 
the  payment  of  taxes  the  form  of  recognition  by  all 
others  of  the  right  that  each  has  to  private  owner- 
ship in  property  ?  And  what  is  meant  by  private 
ownership?  Its  legal  side  is  the  recognition  of 
government  indicated  above,  but  does  not  the  fact 
*Fiske's  "Civil  Government  in  the  Uuited  States," 


50  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

of  this  recognition  show  that  the  right  is  inherent 
in  man,  and  the  expression  in  laws  is  only  the  mak- 
ing evident  what  already  exists  ?  For  land,  water, 
etc.,  "natural  agents"  are  as  much  "gifts"  as  the 
will  of  man  is,  and  no  more. 

Man's  thought  is  his  own;  he  energizes,  deter- 
mines his  development,  that  is,  his  thought  must 
become  real  on  the  will-side  of  his  being.  The 
"  natural  agents  "  are  man's  material  environment, 
by  which  he  expresses  his  free  determinations. 
The  fact  of  his  will,  his  energy,  gives  him  the  right 
of  indicating  how,  that  is,  the  direction  in  which 
that  energy  shall  employ  itself — the  right  of  free- 
dom of  contract.  The  fact  of  the  existence  of  a 
material  environment  shows  on  what  this  free  will 
shall  be  exercised.  And  as  it  is  each  one's  will — 
my  will  that  determines,  so  it  is  my  material  en- 
vironment on  which  only  my  will  can  express  itself 
with  a  sure  return  of  the  deeds  to  the  self.  Own- 
ership by  all  without  regard  to  each  individual,  is 
not  true  self-ownership,  that  ownership  without 
which  man  cannot  express  his  will  in  freedom. 
The  two — the  right  of  contract  and  of  private  own- 
ership in  property — are  the  fundamental  rights 
that  must  be  regulated  by  government,  rights  fun- 
damentally constructive,  rights  without  which  man 
would  cease  to  be  man. 

Laws  establishing  the  conditions  of   ownership 


THE  STATE.  51 

and  the  transfer  of  property,  laws  in  reference  to 
inheritance,  and  closely  connected,  laws  respecting 
taxation,  render  definite  this  right  of  private  owner- 
ship in  property,  or  in  person  (poll  tax).  For  if 
the  only  ground  for  the  justification  of  taxes  is  the 
former  indicated  above,  namely,  the  need  of  the 
government  for  money  that  conditions  of  growth 
can  be  secured,  those  conditions  could  be  secured 
by  full  ownership  of  all  things  by  the  government, 
— but,  by  the  time  that  the  conditions  were  secured, 
the  people  would  be  minus,  that  is,  people  in  the 
true  sense  of  the  word,  individuals  making  them- 
selves in  freedom  through  a  transformation  of  their 
environment  into  forms  suited  to  the  wrants  of 
humanity.  Without  a  free,  self-determining  spirit, 
government  itself  would  soon  cease  to  be  govern- 
ment. 

The  special  channels  of  contract  and  the  forms 
of  ownership  must  be  changed  with  the  progress  of 
nations.  Building  upon  the  experiences  of  the 
past — imperial  ownership,  the  use  of  grants  ob- 
tained for  meritorious  services,  feudal  ownership, 
peasant  proprietor,  cottier  system,  landlord  and 
tenant,  free  possession  of  as  much  as  one  can  get 
hold  of  whether  through  inheritance,  skill,  or  man- 
ipulation— whatever  form,  each  generation  must 
determine  that  for  itself.  The  ideal  may  be  "  four 
acres  and  a  cow."     But  it  must  be  one's  own  four 


52  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

acres  and  one's  own  cow,  to  use  or  transfer  as  he 
may  determine.  But  as  in  the  past,  so  in  the 
future,  the  changes  in  the  details  of  tenure  must 
be  brought  about  by  a  process  in  freedom.  The 
excessive  greed  and  monopolies  in  ownership  of  the 
present  time  can  be  successfully  replaced  by  a  sys- 
tem more  nearly  in  justice  to  all,  only  by  changing 
the  thought  of  the  nation  on  this  question.  This 
change  will  involve  self-sacrifice  in  many,  great 
labor  and  a  voluntary  yielding  of  possible  rights  in 
a  few  who  take  the  iniative  and  start  the  current  of 
thought  which  must  become  established  public 
opinion,  before  the  higher  plane  of  thought  can  be 
expressed  in  just  and  lasting  laws. 

Laws  that  specify  punishment  for  infringement 
of  rights  of  possession  and  transfer  are  protective 
laws,  and  illustrate  justice  only,  but  laws  specify- 
ing and  regulating  the  kinds  of  tenure  and  the 
changes  therein  are  constructive  and  indicate  the 
advance  of  the  social  unity  in  this  line  of  thought. 
A  law  that  enables  the  officer  to  take  the  property 
when  the  payment  of  tax  is  refused,  would  be  a 
protective  measure;  but  a  law  establishing  a  "pro- 
gressive income  tax  "  would  be  constructive,  indi- 
cating a  higher  conception  of  the  relation  of  pro- 
perty to  the  needs  of  human  beings  than  some  of 
the  present  methods  of  levying  taxes  seem  to  in- 
dicate. 


THE  STATE.  53 

The  greater  part  of  the  laws,  both  constitutional 
and  statute,  of  a  growing  nation  are  constructive  or 
are  of  the  above  specified  third  class.  As  an  un- 
selfish devotion  to  one's  country,  or  to  the  good  of 
society,  becomes  reflected  in  the  changing  laws,  so 
also  may  be  read  therein  selfishness,  party  spirit, 
and  disregard  of  weak  and  oppressed  classes.  In 
the  developing  nation,  laws  expressing  the  interests 
of  the  few  will  be  repealed,  or  will  become  of  no 
effect.  The  permanent  elements  are  therefore  best 
seen  in  laws  that  have  stood  the  test  of  time.  As 
illustrative  of  the  advance  in  the  standards  of  justice 
from  generation  to  generation,  and  of  the  process 
by  which  this  advance  has  been  brought  about,  let 
us  notice  in  succession:  Two  clauses  of  the  Consti- 
tution; the  first  Amendments;  the  trend  of  thought 
in  laws  in  reference  to  education;  in  "  poor  laws"; 
in  laws  regulating  the  conditions  of  prisons;  in  the 
establishment  of  state- charities,  bureaus,  commis- 
sions, etc. ;  and  in  laws  in  reference  to  industries. 

The  constructive  measure,  "All  legislative  powers 
herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and 
House  of  Eepresentatives,"  expresses  centuries  of 
effort  to  establish  a  safe  and  wise  form  of  demo- 
cratic legislation.  The  date  1265,  and  the  name  of 
the  noble  Earl  Simoa  de  Montfort  are  sufficient  to 
indicate  the  nature  of  the  process  by  which  the  one 


\   L 


54  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

House  was  forced  to  yield  some  of  its  assumed 
rights,  that  the  "  Commons  "  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  develop  greater  individuality. 

The  two- house  system  in  the  United  States  was 
ushered  in  by  an  event  of  less  historical  signifi- 
cance than  the  battle  of  Evesham,  yet  the  story  of 
Mrs.  Sherman  and  the  stray  pig  in  the  Massachu- 
setts colony  *  illustrates  the  external  of  the  same 
process — the  necessity  of  compromise.  As  has  been 
said,  our  constitution  represents  a  series  of  com- 
promises. And  what  is  a  compromise  but  a  volun- 
tary yielding  of  possible  rights  for  the  good  of 
others  ? 

To  attempt  to  give  the  ethical  results  of  the 
establishment  of  the  representative  principle,  would 
be  an  attempt  to  give  the  history  of  political  free- 
dom in  England  and  in  the  United  States. 

And  the  principle  of  the  famous  Connecticut 
compromise,  whether  the  basis  of  representation 
should  be  the  same  for  both  houses  of  the  United 
States  Congress  was  a  difficult  point  to  determine. 
'Neither  party  was  willing  to  give  way.f  'No 
compromise  for  us,'  said  Luther  Martin.  '  You  must 
give  each  state  an  equal  suffrage,  or  our  business  is 

*  Fiske's  "  The  Beginnings  of  New  England,"  pp. 
106-108. 

t Fiske's  "The  Critical  Period  of  American  His- 
tory," pp.  250,  251. 


THE  STATE.  55 

at  an  end.'     *  Then  we  are  come  to  a  full  stop,'  said 
Roger  Sherman.     'I  suppose  it  was  never  meant 
that  we  should  break  up  without  doing  something.' 
When  the  question  as  to  allowing  equality  of  suff- 
rage to  the  states  in  the  Federal  Senate  was  put  to 
vote  the  result  was  a  tie.     Connecticut,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland— five  states — 
voted  in  the  affirmative;  Massachusetts,  Pennsylva- 
nia, Virginia,  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina — 
five  states — voted  in  the  negative;  the  vote  of  Geor- 
gia was  divided  and  lost.     It  was  Abraham  Baldwin, 
a  native  of  Connecticut  and  lately  a  tutor  in  Yale 
College,  a  recent  emigrant  to  Georgia,  who  thus 
divided  the  vote  of   that   state,    and  prevented  a 
decision  which  would  in  all  probability  have  broken 
up  the  convention.      His  state  was  the  last  to  vote, 
and  the  house  was  hushed  in  anxious  expectation, 
when  this  brave  and  wise  young  man  yielded  his 
private  conviction  to  what  he  saw  to  be  the  para- 
mount necessity  of  keeping  the  convention  together. 
All  honor  to  his  memory!  " 

The  first  eight  amendments  of  the  Constitution 
illustrate  the  same  thought.  These  eight,  selected 
out  of  the  one  hundred  and  eighty- nine  presented 
at  the  first  meeting  of  Congress,  are  a  "bill  of  rights '' 
to  the  American  people  in  a  more  specific  way  than 
the  Constitution  is.  Some  of  the  provisions  appear 
under  slightly  different  forms  as  early  as  Magna 


56 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


Charta,  and  even  the  provisions  of  the  great  charter 
were  formed  upon  the  basis  of  the  charter  presented 
by  Henry  the  Second.  Its  two  "essential  clauses," 
as  Hallam  calls  them,  which  "  'protect  the  personal 
liberty  and  property  of  all  freemen,  by  giving  secu- 
rity from  arbitrary  imprisonment  and  arbitrary 
spoilation,  (Hallam,  Middle  Ages,  II.,  p.  324)  had 
become  he  foundation  stone  upon  which  the  fabric 
of  free  government  rested  in  England  and  America." 

The  conference  on  the  island  in  the  Thames 
between  Staines  and  Windsor  is  the  impressive 
scene  which  secured  elements  of  justice  to  a  wait- 
ing nation;  yet,  on  July  15,  1215,  hours  and  years 
of  work  and  sorrow  were  forgotten  in  the  glad  joy 
of  the  new  consciousness  of  freedom.  The  energy 
and  persistence  of  Stephen  Langton  made  known 
the  underlying  currents  which  are  often  forgotten 
when  the  victory  for  justice  is  extolled.  And 
again,  in  "  The  Petition  for  Right ''  wrested  from 
the  lawless  Charles,  the  courage  and  valiant  self- 
sacrifice  of  a  John  Eliot  are  needed.  The  "  Bill  of 
Rights''  of  1688  repeats  the  story  with  variations. 
The  experience  of  the  past,  and  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  principles  of  organization  enabled 
the  patriots  of  England  to  obtain  from  William  and 
Mary  their  desires,  without  the  violent  struggles 
that  had  attended  similar  efforts  for  liberty. 

Two  of   the   thoughts    of  the  first    amendment 


THE  STATE.  57 

usher  us  into  the  very  process  of  history — "  relig- 
ious freedom"  and  "freedom  of  the  press."  When 
we  contemplate  the  negative  side  of  religious  free- 
dom, the  centuries  of  war,  bloodshed,  suffering  and 
martyrdom,  the  impression  is  that  evil  and  not 
grace  is  the  potent  factor  in  historical  transforma- 
tions! But  grace  still  triumphs!  And  the  nine- 
teenth century  rejoices  in  the  relief  from  those 
purgatorial  woes.  Nothing  less  than  a  history  of 
the  Church  and  its  relations  to  the  State  can  ren- 
der explicit  the  thought  contained  in  the  expression 
"religious  freedom.''  Each  epoch  from  the  time 
of  the  establishment  of  the  Church  by  Christ  until 
the  present,  has  presented  memorable  names. 
Even  the  collective  names  of  these  steadfast  people 
are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  contents  of  volumes : 
the  apostles  and  early  martyrs,  the  Albigenses,  the 
Franciscans,  the  Hugenots,  the  Manichaeans  with 
their  spiritual  descendants  the  Puritans  *  the  Cal- 
vinists,  the  Presbyterians,  the  Methodists,  the 
Unitarians,  with  however  mingled  and  perverted 
notions,  have  labored  diligently  for  the  same  end — 
freedom  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates 
of  the  conscience. 

The  fundamental  difference  between  a  sin  and  a 
crime  obtained  its  first  unequivocal  assertion  in 
this  country  in  separation  of  Church  from  State  in 

*Fiske's  "Beginnings  of  New  England,"  page 39. 


58  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

Virginia.  "  Unlike  the  Puritans  of  New  England, 
the  Presbyterians  were  in  favor  of  the  total  separa- 
tion of  Church  from  State.  It  was  one  of  their 
cardinal  principles  that  the  magistrate  had  no  right 
to  interfere  in  any  way  with  matters  of  religion. 
By  taking  this  broad  ground,  they  secured  the 
powerful  aid  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  afterward  of 
Madison  and  Mason.  The  controversy  went  on 
through  all  the  years  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
while  all  Virginia  rang  with  fulminations  and 
arguments.  In  1776,  Jefferson  and  Mason  suc- 
ceeded in  carrying  a  bill  which  released  all  dissent- 
ers from  parish  rates  and  legalized  all  forms  of 
worship.  At  last,  in  1785,  Madison  won  the 
crowning  victory  in  the  Religious  Freedom  Act,  by 
which  the  Church  of  England  was  disestablished 
and  all  parish  rates  abolished,  and  still  more,  all 
religious  tests  were  done  away  with.  In  this  last 
respect  Virginia  came  to  the  front  among  all  the 
American  States,  as  Massachusetts  had  come  to  the 
front  in  the  abolition  of  slavery."  * 

During  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. ,  printed  matter 
was  subjected  to  various  irregular  restrictions. 
Long  before  this  time  the  Romans  had  ordered 
burnt  libels  and  anything  impiously  written  against 
the  gods.      After  800  A.  D.,  "the  popes  of  Rome, 

*  Fiske:  "  The  Critical  Period  of  American  History," 
page  81. 


THE  STATE.  59 

engrossing  what  they  pleased  of  political  rule  into 
their  own  hands,  extended  their  dominion  over 
men's  eyes,  as  they  had  bjfore  over  their  judg- 
ments, burning  and  prohibiting  to  be  read  what 
they  fancied  not."  *  In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
"the  regulations  of  the  Sfcar-Chamber  for  this  pur- 
pose are  memorable,  as  the  first  step  in  the  long 
struggle  of  government  after  government  to  check 
the  liberty  of  printing.  The  irregular  censorship 
which  had  long  existed  wa^  now  finally  organized. 
Printing  was  restricted  to  L  )ndon  and  the  two  Uni- 
versities, the  number  of  printers  reduced,  and  all 
candidates  for  license  to  print  placed  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Company  of  Stationers.  Every 
publication,  too,  great  or  small,  had  to  receive  the 
approbation  of  the  Primate  or  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don." t 

The  struggles  against  these  restrictions  upon  the 
freedom  of  speech  have  been  many  and  severe.  In 
England,  this  contest  assumed  definite  form  through 
John  Wilkes,  who  "  ventured  for  the  first  time  to 
attack  a  minister  by  name."  George  the  Third 
and  the  narrow  and  selfish  Grenville  opposed  in 
vain  the  spirit  of  devotion  to  liberty.     The  colo- 

*  Milton's  "  Areopagitica,"  a  speech  for  the  Liberty 
of  Unlicensed  Printing. 

t  A  Short  History  of  the  English  People:  J.  R. 
Green,  page  467. 


60 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


nists,  in  their  resistance  to  the  stamp  act,  joined  in 
the  general  agitation.  The  stirring  words  of 
William  Pitt,  the  election  by  the  people  of  Wilkes 
as  alderman  of  London,  the  "  letters  of  Junius " 
enforced  upon  the  aristocracy  the  necessity  of 
yielding  assumed  rights.  With  the  memory  still 
keenly  alive  to  the  encroachments  of  King  and 
Parliament,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  new  States 
insisted  upon  the  clause  by  which  Congress  is  for- 
bidden to  restrict  freedom  of  speech. 

"  The  early  Federalists  endeavored  to  introduce 
unusual  punishments  for  the  offence  of  criticising 
either  the  policy  of  the  government  or  the  conduct 
of  officials,  and  the  'sedition  law,'  as  it  was  termed, 
passed  during  the  administration  of  John  Adams, 
•met  with  the  approval  of  the  court.  But  the 
reception  of  this  law  by  the  people  emphatically 
declared  that  they  believed  in  no  sort  of  censor- 
ship, for  the  indignation  which  it  aroused  could  not 
be  allayed  except  by  the  humiliating  defeat  of  the 
party  that  passed  it.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  there 
has  been  no  subsequent  attempt  on  the  part  of 
civil  authority  to  control  the  expression  of  opinion, 
or  to  limit  the  sphere  of  criticism  upon  government 
or  upon  the  existing  order  of  society."* 

These  few  clauses  of  the  Constitution  are  simply 

*The  Forum,  July,  1886:  Article  by  H.  C.  Adams, 
1  Shall  we  Muzzle  the  Anarchists?" 


THE  STATE.  61 

illustrations  of  the  process  of  construction  of  the 
whole  Constitution — the  process  by  which  the  cor- 
relative powers,  the  legislative,  the  executive  and 
the  judicial,  have  been  slowly  formed,  and  so  were 
ready  to  be  rendered  definite  in  organic  law. 

Since  the  continuance  and  growth  of  any  nation 
depends  upon  the  development  of  its  members, 
there  is  no  inherent  reason  why  any  or  all  forms  of 
government  should  not  have  a  part  in  the  process 
of  education  of  the  people;  and  even  more  than 
that,  there  ;s  no  reason  why  any  institution,  as  the 
family,  or  the  church,  should  not  aid  in  this  work 
of  education.  But  the  question  would  still  remain, 
cannot  some  institutions  and  some  phases  of  gov- 
ernment do  the  work  better  than  others  ?  Because 
the  state  and  the  church  have  different  spheres  of 
work  in  other  respects,  is  the  reason  that  they  can- 
not work  harmoniously  in  the  lines  of  educational 
effort;  and  while  the  forms  of  the  two  institutions 
will  always  be  different,  the  fundamental  object  of 
both  in  this  line  of  work  is  the  same,  to  secure  con- 
ditions of  growth  for  human  souls.  And  when  the 
spirit  of  freedom  has  broken  down  denominational 
barriers,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  work  of  educa- 
tion may  not  be  carried  on  by  both  church  and 
state. 

But  as  it  is  not  in  the  province  of  the  church  to 
set  up  a  law,  a  standard  of  compulsion,  the  work  of 


62  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

education  can  be  done  better  by  the  state.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  natural  desire  of  the  human  being 
to  remain  in  his  present  condition,  the  work  of 
education  might  perhaps  be  left  in  the  care  of  the 
family.  But  the  work  of  education  is  the  planting 
of  new  thoughts,  new  ideals,  and  if  the  father  and 
mother  have  not  the  thoughts  to  pass  on  to  the 
children,  other  families  must  supply  that  lack  or 
else  there. is  deterioration  in  the  organism.  And  it 
might  be  left  to  the  voluntary  assistance  of  one 
family  to  another,  and  so  remain  in  the  sphere  of 
the  private  relations  of  society.  But  here  again 
the  question  presents  itself:  Is  that  the  best  way? 
And  even  if  it  is  granted  that  the  order  and  system 
of  government  are  needed  to  render  the  work  of 
education  effective,  there  is  still  the  alternative — 
the  federal  or  the  state  government? 

Without  doubt  the  process  of  the  realization  of 
the  National  Unity  has  been  in  history  first  local, 
then  the  commonwealth,  then  the  nation;  but  if 
the  Unity  is  the  underlying  thought,  the  purpose, 
the  logical  order  is  the  opposite — that  is,  the  nation 
is  the  essential  determining  power.  But  as  it  is 
difficult  to  determine  in  the  case  of  the  individual 
what  possible  rights  may  be  yielded  for  the  sake  of 
others  in  society,  so  it  is  difficult  to  tell  which 
government,  federal,  state,  county,  town  or  munic- 
ipal   can   best  frame   or    execute    measures   that 


THE  STATE.  63 

shall  secure  justice  to  all.  Education  is  one  of  the 
questions  that  concerns  this  border  line  of  author- 
ity. Besides  the  question  of  education  Mulford 
{The  Nation,  p.  297)  also  places  the  following  on 
this  border  line:  "  The  powers "  in  reference  "to 
divorce,"  "to  the  resident  qualifications  of  an  elec- 
tor, and  to  the  militia  as  a  local  or  constabulary 
force." 

What  has  been  done  and  with  what  results, 
always  assists  in  determining  future  actions.  In  our 
own  country  we  find  that  the  Federal  government, 
and  the  state  governments,  with  all  the  minor 
phases,  have  united  in  this  most  important  of  all 
governmental  work.  The  colonies  assisted  private 
schools  by  money  from  taxation  and  by  grants  of 
land,  even  before  a  system  of  public  schools  could 
be  sustained.  The  Federal  government  gave  its 
first  assistance  in  a  land  grant;  this  bill  "known  as 
the  •  ordinance  of  1 787  for  the  government  of  the 
Northwest  Territory,'  insured  to  the  State  of  Ohio 
two  townships  of  land  for  the  support  of  a  univer- 
sity." *  Other  land  grants,  provisions  for  experi- 
ment stations,  military  and  naval  academies,  library, 
Smithsonian  Institution  and  National  Museum,  and 
the  establishment  of   the  United  States  Bureau  of 


*  "  The  History  of  Federal  and  State  Aid  to  Higher 
Education  in  the  United  States,"  by  F.  W.  Blackmar, 
page  43. 


64  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

Education  have  all  been  in  the  line  of  Federal  Aid 
to  Education. 

The  defeat  of  the  Blair  Education  Bill  seemed  to 
confirm  the  opinion  hitherto  held  that  the  States 
can  support  and  manage  the  details  of  the  public 
school  system  better  than  the  Federal  government. 

To  find  out  the  ethical  results  of  our  public 
school  system  is  a  hopeless  task.  Some  idea  of  the 
superiority  of  such  a  system  which  provides  oppor- 
tunity for  so  nearly  free  and  universal  education, 
might  be  seen  by  comparing  countries  having 
different  systems;  for  instance,  the  results  of  the 
system  of  the  United  States  with  that  of  England, 
where  public  education  as  a  system  was  not  estab- 
lished by  law  until  1870,  and  then  only  for  the 
lower  grades;  or,  the  system  of  the  United  States 
with  that  of  Spain,  where  the  church  for  the  most 
part  still  controls  education. 

To  show  the  great  opportunities  for  education 
for  all  classes  and  conditions  of  people  in  the 
United  States,  it  is  sufficient  to  indicate  a  few  of 
the  most  recent  lines  of  assistance  given  by  the 
states.  Not  only  may  the  children  of  rich  and 
poor  receive  instruction  in  the  various  grades, 
including  high  schools,  but  in  more  than  twenty 
states  children  from  four  or  five  to  thirteen  or 
fourteen  (varying  in  different  states)  must  attend 
school  a  certain  number  of  weeks  in  the  year,  in 


THE  STATE.  65 

Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  twenty  being 
required.  Also  in  some  cities  free  kindergartens 
and  industrial  education  for  some  of  the  public 
school  grades  have  been  established.  In  offering  to 
the  youth  of  the  land  this  industrial  training,  the 
state  recognizes  the  necessity  of  a  symmetrical 
development  of  all  the  powers  of  mind  and  body; 
also  the  necessity  of  correct  ideas  of  the  dignity  of 
labor;  and  while  the  state  in  this  kind  of  training 
does  not  attempt  to  teach  "trades,"  it  hopes  to 
train  the  eye  and  hand,  to  make  familiar  the  use 
of  tools  and  instruments  and  ingredients,  and  so 
to  prepare  the  youth  for  a  successful  transition 
from  school  life  to  the  more  active  industrial  life. 
That  the  state  should  provide  to  a  reasonable 
extent  for  the  needs  of  its  poor  and  unfortunate 
classes,  is  grounded  in  the  fact  of  the  organic  unity 
of  society.  The  thoughts  and  sympathies  of  these 
classes  mingle  only  to  a  very  slight  extent  in  the 
thought  and  purposes  of  the  nation.  But  when 
properly  fed,  clothed  and  sheltered,  there  is  a  pos- 
sibility for  the  development  of  a  greater  degree  of 
individuality,  at  least  such  a  development  on  the  will 
side  as  will  restrain  from  mendicancy  and  vice. 
When  this  assistance  to  the  weaker  members  of 
society,  which  might  be  rendered  in  the  way  of 
spontaneous  private  charity,  becomes  definite  and 
systematized  in  a  measure  of  justice,  the  oppor- 


66  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

tunity   for   self- development   of    these    classes   is 
thereby  assured. 

There  was  no  poor-law  in  England  that  can  be 
called  a  constructive  measure  until  the  reforms  of 
1834.  ( The  " poor-laws  "  before  this  time  illustrate 
another  phase  of  the  relations  of  the  government 
to  the  people,  and  will  be  considered  later).  Ill- 
advised  legislation,  dating  back  to  the  time  of 
Elizabeth,  had  rendered  the  condition  of  the  poorer 
classes  deplorable  in  the  extreme.  "Drink  and 
dissipation,  indolence  and  insolence,  deception 
and  dependence,  had  become  the  familiar  charac- 
teristics of  the  men  from  whose  rank  had  come 
the  soldiery  who  had  astonished  all  Europe."* 
The  new  law,  through  the  "workhouse  test" 
sought  to  inspire  independence  and  hope  in  these 
discouraged  and  destitute  classes.  Especially 
through  the  establishment  of  "  unions"  and  placing 
the  responsibility  of  the  care  of  the  poor  upon  the 
local  government,  and  providing  for  a  better 
administration  of  justice  through  the  central  board, 
a  degree  of  order  has  been  brought  out  of  the 
former  chaos.  Among  the  most  recent  attempts  at 
assistance  to  these  unfortunate  classes  by  the  gov- 
ernment, is  the  purchase  of  "  Bethnal  Green  "  and 
the    removal    of    unsanitary    dwellings    and    the 

*  Fowle,  The  I'oor  Law,  p.  89;    English  Citizen  .se- 
ries. 


THE  STATE.  67 

erection  of  new  ones  under  the  'supervision  of 
the  city  government.  The  same  object  might  per- 
haps be  better  accomplished  by  the  appointment  of 
a  Sanitary  Commission,  such  as  those  of  Chicago 
and  other  cities  of  America.  Also  the  government 
by  furnishing  money  and  appointing  a  committee, 
and  affixing  a  penalty  in  case  of  misappropriated 
funds,  has  endorsed  "  General  Booth's "  plan  of 
"city,"  "farm,"  and  "over -the -sea"  colonies;  the 
plan  no  doubt  originates  in  ethical  motives,  the 
results  are  not  yet  evident. 

Some  of  the  New  England  States  perhaps  lead 
the  world  in  the  intelligent  care  and  assistance 
given  to  the  poor  and  unfortunate  through  state 
action.  Through  state  boards  of  charities  a  care- 
ful survey  of  the  whole  field  is  made,  and  a 
judicious  separation  of  the  different  grades  of 
indigent  and  weak-minded  is  brought  about,  and 
suitable  help  rendered  to  each.  Connecticut  has 
even  established  "children's  homes,"  one  in  each 
county,  to  which  the  children  may  be  taken  from 
the  regular  "town  farm";  the  children  are  in  this 
way  removed  from  the  contaminating  influences  of 
bad  habits  and  vices  of  the  older  inmates  of  the 
alms  house  and  given  the  comforts  and  watchful- 
ness of  a  good  home  until  a  better  is  found  with 
some  good  family. 

"  The  plan  of  carrying  on  a  municipal  lodging- 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


house  (under  the  control  of  the  overseers  of  the 
poor)  has  been  successfully  worked  in  Boston  for 
nearly  twelve  years.  Those  who  desire  to  avail 
themselves  of  its  comforts  make  their  application 
at  the  police  station,  where  they  may  obtain  a 
ticket  of  admission;  in  this  way  hardened  vagrants 
and  thoroughly  vicious  criminals  are  screened  out, 
so  to  speak.  Decent  food,  hot  baths,  clean  towels, 
clean  bed  linen,  and  even  clean  night-gowns  are 
provided  for  the  lodgers.  The  most  deserving  and 
respectable  are  given  beds  apart  from  the  crowd. 
When  the  clothing  of  applicants  is  in  a  particu- 
larly bad  state  it  is  cleansed  during  the  night  with 
superheated  steam,  and  in  the  morning,  before  the 
lodger  is  allowed  to  leave,  he  saws  enough  wood  or 
performs  enough  other  labor  to  pay  for  his 
expenses.  In  fact,  we  believe  that  the  Wayfarers' 
Lodge  has  been  not  only  self-supporting  but  has 
paid  a  small  profit  into  the  city  treasury."* 

When  a  person  allows  his  bad  thought  or  motive 
to  become  an  overt  act  for  which  there  has  been  a 
penalty  arranged  by  the  state,  he  becomes  a  crim- 
inal. That  he  should  receive  his  own  deed,  ex- 
pressed as  correctly  as  possible  through  the  estab- 
lished machinery  of  the  judiciary,  is  simply  justice. 
But  because  a  man  has  committed  one  crime  is  not 
a  warrant  for  treating  him  as  if  it  was  his  persist- 

*  The  Christian  Union,  April  2,  1891. 


THE  STATE.  69 

ent  intention  to  continue  a  criminal.  Until  the 
time  of  John  Howard  the  central  thought  of  the 
treatment  of  prisoners,  was  retribution;  punish- 
ment was  inflicted  for  the  crime  and  not  for  the 
preservation  of  the  other  members  of  society  and 
for  the  reformation  of  the  criminal.  The  prisoner 
was  treated  as  if  he  had  forfeited  his  individuality 
by  the  committal  of  perhaps  one  crime,  which,  if 
undiscovered,  would  have  placed  the  man  in  the 
"  best  society."  Howard,  aroused  by  the  inhuman 
treatment  of  prisoners  of  war,  spent  his  time  in 
visiting  prisons,  his  fortune  in  propagating  his 
ideas  to  arouse  public  interest  and  sympathy  for 
the  prisoners,  and  in  1789,  in  Russia,  yielded  his 
life,  while  on  a  continental  tour,  the  results  of 
which,  like  his  preceding  journeys,  meant  relief 
and  hope  to  thousands  of  prisoners.  Largely 
through  the  efforts  of  Howard,  Parliament  in  1774 
passed  bills  "  for  the  relie£  of  acquitted  prisoners 
in  the  matter  of  fees,"  and  "for  preserving  the 
health  of  prisoners." 

But  it  is  only  very  recently  that  the  ideas  of 
Howard  can  be  said  to  have  become  established  as 
public  opinion.  The  New  York  legislature  in  1889 
"  revised  and  codified  the  prison  laws  in  a  compre- 
hensive act  commonly  known  as  the  Fassett  law." 
The  conditions  which  have  prevailed  in  our  state 
prisons  until  within  a  few  years  past,  are  described 


70  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

by  the  Secretary  of  the  Prison  Association  of  New 
York,  as  follows:  "  The  convict,  on  his  entrance 
into  the  prison,  was  alsolutely  relieved  of  all  self- 
responsibility  and  of  nearly  all  rights.  His  main- 
tenance was  secure;  it  was  the  duty  of  the  state  to 
provide  that.  His  labor  was  hired  out  to  a  contrac- 
tor at  so  much  a  head,  and  all  the  earnings  of  his 
labor  belonged  solely  to  the  state.  We  treated  our 
convicts  precisely  as  we  treated  our  cattle;  we 
housed  them,  fed  them,  whipped  them,  worked 
them,  and,  to  complete  the  degradation,  hired  them 
out  by  the  day;  but  in  the  product  of  labor  the 
convicts  themselves  had  no  more  interest  or  right 
than  has  the  ox  that  drags  the  plough.  The  con- 
vict's environment  was  closely  analogous  to  that  of 
a  negro  slave  under  the  regime  of  slavery;  but  it 
had  no  counterpart  in  any  free  community  outside 
the  prison.  When  the  convict  was  released,  he 
met  changed  conditions  which  his  imprisonment 
had  positively  unfitted  him  to  cope  with;  and  the 
only  wonder  is  that  this  vicious  system  did  not  con- 
vert every  discharged  convict,  without  a  single  ex- 
ception, into  a  confirmed  and  irreclaimable  crim- 
inal." * 

The  Fa^sett  law  has  for  its  fundamental  idea, 
that  a  criminal  is  still  a  human  being,  and  that 

*  Prison  Science  with    Special  Reference  to  New 
York  Legislation,  p  12.    Economic  Tracts. 


THE  STATE. 


71 


under  pure  and  wholesome  industrial,  educational 
and  religious  influences,  he  may  again  become  a 
peace-loving,  law  abiding  citizen.  To  that  end  the 
warden  gives  especial  attention  to  the  character 
and  needs  of  each  individual  prisoner.  He  is 
placed  in  one  of  the  three  grades  of  prisoners:  "In 
the  first  are  those  convicts  who  are  least  vicious  and 
give  hopeful  promise  of  reform ;  in  the  second,  those 
of  a  lower  moral  order;  while  the  third  includes  the 
hopelessly  incorrigible."  Prisoners  may  be  de- 
graded or  promoted  from  one  grade  to  another. 
Their  work  is  arranged  according  to  their  classifi- 
cation. The  labor  of  the  first  grade  shall  be 
directed  ' "  with  reference  to  fitting  the  prisoner  to 
maintain  himself  by  honest  industry  after  his  dis- 
charge, as  the  primary  or  sole  object  of  such  labor.' 
The  first  grade  prisoners  may  be  employed  at  'labor 
for  industrial  training  and  instruction  solely,  even 
though  no  useful  or  salable  products  result  from 
their  labor.' " 

The  labor  of  the  second  grade  "  shall  be  directed 
primarily  to  the  production  of  salable  goods,  and 
secondarily  to  fitting  them  for  a  life  of  self-support 
after  their  discharge." 

The  labor  of  those  who  appear  to  be  incorrigible 
"  shall  be  directed  solely  to  such  exercise  as  shall 
tend  to  the  preservation  of  health,  or  to  manufac- 
turing  without    machinery   such   articles    as    are 


72  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

needed  in  the  public  institutions  of  the  State,  or  to 
other  manual  labor  which  shall  not  compete  with 
free  labor." 

"  The  indeterminate  sentence ''  is  another  special 
feature  of  the  Fassett  Bill.  Instead  of  the  present 
arrangement  of  an  estimate  by  the  Court  within 
the  specified  limits  of  the  law  of  the  time  that  the 
criminal  shall  remain  in  prison,  the  new  law  makes 
his  release  dependent  upon  himself.  When  he 
gives  sufficient  evidence  to  the  warden  and  those 
having  the  oversight,  that  he  is  ready  to  re  enter 
the  social  unity  from  which  his  act  had  severed 
him,  and  become  a  member  whose  thoughts  and 
acts  shall  be  in  sympathy  with  those  of  the  whole, 
then  he  may  return  and  exercise  all  the  rights  of  a 
law-abiding  citizen.  At  present  the  law  "  provides 
that  the  courts  may  pronounce  such  sentence:  the 
exercise  of  the  authority  is  discretionary,  not  com- 
pulsory.' ' 

The  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  pre- 
eminently the  time  for  the  appointment  of  commis- 
sioners in  various  departments  of  government. 
Some  of  the  prominent  ones  are:  Railroad  commis- 
sions, Labor  commissions,  Education,  Prison,  an$ 
Sanitary  commissions,  commissions  for  Charities 
and  Boards  of  Arbitration;  the  powers  of  these  are 
various,  including  those  of  investigation,  advisory 
power,  police  and  judicial.     The  fact  that  the  state 


THE  STATE.  73 

is  ready  to  make  these  appointments  indicates  that 
the  intimate  connection  and  relation  of  all  members 
of  society  is  more  clearly  understood  than  in  pre- 
ceding centuries;  it  indicates  that  the  public  has 
an  interest  in  classes  in  society  that  are  suffering 
injustice  from  others,  and  in  those  who  are  weak, 
poor  and  unfortunate;  it  indicates  that  the  ethical 
education  of  society  has  reached  such  a  stage  of  de- 
velopment that  in  many  cases  rights  may  be  ad- 
justed and  people  may  be  persuaded  to  do  better 
without  the  trouble  and  expense  of  coercion  by  the 
regular  courts. 

It  might  be  urged  that  there  is  no  need  of  search- 
ing for  an  ethical  principle  in  the  history  of  indus- 
trial legislation — that  industry  is  governed  by  econ- 
omic laws  and  not  ethical  principles,  and  that  the 
basal  economic  law  is  to  let  business  alone. 

No  doubt  it  is  true  that  if  one  man  makes  a  yard 
of  cloth  for  the  market,  and  another  man  raises  a 
bushel  of  wheat  also  for  society,  in  that  transaction 
there  is  a  phase  of  the  ethical,  but  it  is  also  true 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Dante's  Inferno  exem- 
plify an  ethical  principle;  for  so  long  as  human 
beings  can  associate  together,  even  though  it  be  in 
a  state  of  anger  and  revenge,  there  is  an  exempli- 
fication of  the  ethical.  The  let  alone  policy  in  busi- 
ness is  a  sufficient  basis  for  the  formation  of  cus- 
toms in  a  rude  or  undifferentiated 


* 

74  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE 

but  when  the  wants  of  a  growing  society  demand  a 
diversity  of  industries  and  division  of  labor,  in  this 
process  the  rights  of  one  become  so  mingled  with 
the  rights  of  another  that  the  customs  can  be  no 
longer  simple,  and  a  reasoned- out  ethical  principle 
is  necessary  for  the  correct  formation  of  those  cus- 
toms. 

Fortunately,  we  can  study  the  history  of  factory 
legislation  from  both  standpoints;  from  the  motive- 
side  or  the  process  of  their  inception,  and  also  some 
of  the  results  of  u  Factory  Laws." 

Because  of  the  invention  of  machinery  and  appli- 
cation of  scientific  principles  in  the  processes,  dur- 
ing the  last  part  of  the  last  century  and  the  first 
half  of  the  present,  there  was  a  complete  revolution 
in  the  methods  of  production.  The  abolition  of  the 
Guild  and  Apprentice  system,  and  the  extreme  lais- 
sez  faire  doctrine  promulgated  and  taught,  led  to  a 
complete  change  in  the  attitude  to  each  other  of 
the  employer  and  the  employed.  Freed  from  legal 
restraint,  supported  by  a  system  of  social  philos- 
ophy that  encouraged  selfishness,  the  employers 
soon  found  the  means  and  opportunities  of  increas- 
ing their  income  and  power  at  the  expense  of  the 
mental  and  moral  qualities  of  the  employees. 

Prof.  E.  J.  James  says,  "The  condition  of  fac- 
tory operatives  in  the  factory  districts  and  mining 
regions  of  England  in  the  latter  part  the  last  of 


THE  STATE.  75 

century  and  away  on  into  the  second  quarter  of  the 
present,  was  horrible  beyond  belief.  The  mere  de- 
scription of  the  lives  they  led,  is  enough  to  make 
one's  blood  boil  with  indignation  that  such  things 
should  be  allowed  to  exist  in  a  so-called  Christian 
land.  It  seemed,  indeed,  as  if  the  great  mass  of 
the  laborers  were  destined  to  sink  into  a  condition 
far  worse  than  that  in  which  even  the  most  miser- 
able of  their  ancestors  had  lived,  and  one  little  short 
of  slavery  in  its  worst  form,  viz.,  that  in  which  the 
master  has  no  duties,  only  rights  and  privileges. " 
"  As  England  was  the  first  great  industrial  state  of 
modern  times,  so  in  England  the  results*  of  [this] 
policy  first  showed  themselves  in  all  their  naked- 
ness. The  most  merciless  exploitation  of  the  weaker 
elements  of  society  by  the  stronger  became  the  rule. 
The  manufacturers,  in  their  thirst  for  wealth,  paid 
as  little  attention  to  the  health  of  their  operatives 
as  they  chose.  The  laborers  in  their  necessity  were 
compelled  to  accept  what  terms  were  offered.  The 
labor  of  the  father  soon  became  insufficient  to  sup- 
port the  family.  The  mother  had  to  go  into  the 
coal  mine  or  factory.  It  was  not  enough;  the  chil- 
dren were  sent  into  the  mines  and  factories.  They 
were  compelled  to  work  ten  or  fifteen  hours  a  day 
for  seven  days  in  the  week,  in  narrow  illy  venti- 
lated and  dirty  factory  rooms,  or  in  still  more  un- 
healthful  mines.     The  result  of  such  work  was,  of 


76  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

course,  the  moral  and  physical  deterioration  of  the 
laborers  from  decade  to  decade." 

What  could  be  done!  The  operatives  were  too 
weak  and  ignorant  to  obtain  their  rights  and  just 
dues  singly,  or  to  combine  successfully,  and  so  the 
conditions  were  such  that  they  could  not  help 
themselves.  But  help  at  length  came — the  volun- 
tary giving-up  of  rights  and  privileges  that  could 
have  been  selfishly  enjoyed.  For  forty-five  years 
the  seventh  Earl  of  Shaftsbury  made  the  cause  of 
the  poor  and  oppressed  laborers  of  England  his  own 
With  untiring  zeal  and  with  almost  incredible  per- 
sistence and  self-sacrifice  he  sought  to  better  the 
condition  of  the  laborers  in  mines  and  factories.  He 
visited  them  at  their  homes,  attended  their  meetings, 
was  instrumental  in  establishing  schools,  and  for 
more  than  twenty  years  in  the  House  of  Commons 
he  introduced  measure  after  measure  in  their  behalf, 
and  for  twenty-five  years  in  the  House  of  Lords  he 
defended  their  cause  with  equal  valor. 

Before  1833,  when  Lord  Ashley  began  his  life- 
work,  there  had  been  several  attempts  to  improve 
the  condition  of  the  laborers  through  legislation. 
The  first  Sir  Robert  Peelp,  frightened  by  the 
ravages  of  an  epidemic  disease  in  the  factory  dis- 
tricts of  Manchester,  in  1802  introduced  an  act 
"  for  the  preservation  of  the  health  and  morals  of 
the  apprentices  and  others  employed  in  cotton  and 


THE  STATE.  77 

other  mills,  and  cotton  and  other  factories;"  in  1819, 
an  attempt  wa3  made  to  fix  the  age  at  which 
children  should  enter  mills;  in  1829,  Sir  John 
Broughton  passed  a  bill  providing  for  a  partial 
holiday  on  Saturday;  in  1831  night  work  was  pro- 
hibited. 

After  the  defeat  in  1831,  and  rejection  of  Mr. 
Sadler  in  1832,  the  laboring  people  had  no  one  to 
urge  their  cause  in  Parliament.  At  this  time 
influenced  by  friends  already  moved  by  the  suffer- 
ings and  the  injustice  received  by  the  laboring 
people,  Lord  Ashley  began  his  earnest  and  vigor- 
ous efforts  to  secure  just  labor  legislation. 

Point  after  point  of  benefit  to  the  working-man 
was  taken  up,  struggled  for,  and  the  consolidating 
act  of  1878  shows  the  degree  of  success  attained. 
The  notable  victories  of  this  long  period  were  in 
in  1844,  the  number  of  hours  constituting  a  day's 
labor  for  children  was  reduced;  in  1847.  through 
especial  assistance  of  Mr.  Fielden,  the  ten-hour 
law;  in  1864,  the  extension  act;  in  1874  the  min- 
imum age  of  children  in  factories  was  fixed  at  ten 
years,  and  the  provisions  of  the  act  extended  to 
nearly  every  branch  of  manufacturing  industry. 
At  this  time  Lord  Shaftsbury  could  say  that  "  the 
Protective  Acts  in  the  statute  book  now  cover  a 
population  of  nearly  2,500,000  persons." 

The  nature  of  the  evils  remedied  may  be  found 


78  THE  ETHICAL  PKINCIPLE. 

by  considering  the  act  of  1878.  Prof.  James  sums 
up  the  phases  of  benefit  as  follows:  "  1,  sanitary- 
provisions;  2,  safety;  3,  employment  and  meal 
hours;  4,  holidays;  5,  education;  6,  certificates  of 
fitness  for  employment;  7,  accidents." 

Places  of  occupation  must  be  kept  clean  and 
healthful,  dangerous  machinery  must  be  guarded,  a 
reasonable  amount  of  time  at  proper  intervals  must 
be  secured  for  meals,  provision  must  be  made  for 
stopping  work  upon  specified  holidays,  a  weekly 
certificate  of  the  school  attendance  of  every  child 
employed  must  be  obtained,  also  medical  certificates 
certifying  a  required  degree  of  physical  soundness, 
and  "  notice  of  accidents  causing  loss  of  life  or  bodily 
injury,  must  be  'sent  to  the  inspector  and  certifying 
surgeoi^of  the  district."  In  1880,  The  Employer's 
Liability  Act  was  passed.  "This  gives  to  the  em- 
ployees a  right  to  a  suit  against  their  employers  in 
case  they  are  injured  while  performing  their  duties, 
unless  it  can  be  shown  that  the  accident  was  caused 
by  the  fault  of  the  employee  himself." 

Without  doubt  it  could  be  shown  that  the 
enforcement  of  the  above  provisions  of  the  law  did 
not  lessen  the  amount  of  production  in  an  appreci- 
able degree,  when  series  of  years  are  considered; 
but  the  purpose  here  is  to  notice  the  principle 
whose  application  secures  ethical  results  to  thou- 
sands of  men,  women  and  childreu.     We  find  this 


THE  STATE.  79 

thought  expressed  in  each  item  that  has  stood  the 
test  of  time;  the  voice  of  the  organic  whole,  speak- 
ing through  representatives  who  see  the  needs  and 
correct  relations  of  the  different  industrial  groups, 
demands  that  one  class  in  society  who  will  not 
voluntarily  give  up  privileges  which  their  position 
in  society  enables  them  to  get,  must  be  compelled 
to  act  as  if  they  saw  the  good  of  others  and  the  true 
interests  of  all  classes. 

Factory   legislation    in   several   of    the   United 
States  is  essentially  a  repetition  of  that  of  Eng 
land.     Massachusetts  perhaps  leads  in  the  number 
of  points  of  protection  granted  to  the  employees. 

The  manner  of  securing  the  passage  of  the 
various  acts  in  the  United  States  shows  another 
application  of  the  ethical  principle.  Owing  prob- 
ably to  a  sense  of  independence  incident  to  the 
activities  which  a  new  country  arouses,  to  a  higher 
degree  of  intelligence  in  corresponding  grades  of 
society  in  the  United  States  than  in  Eag]and, 
brought  about  by  more  extended  system  of  com- 
mon school  education,  and  more  especially  to  a 
larger  representation  in  the  legislative  body,  the 
laws  have  been  enacted  through  the  efforts  and 
combinations  of  the  persons  more  directly  benefitted. 
To  be  sure,  the  combination  of  one  class  against 
another  class  often  resembles  a  fight  in  which  the 
stronger  prevails  and  the  weaker  must  yield  and 


80  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

console  themselves  in  any  way  possible;  yet  there 
is  another  and  more  hopeful  point  of  view.  The 
fact  that  those  of  trades  or  grades  of  industry  will 
UDite  to  secure  a  real  or  even  supposed  better  con- 
dition, shows  an  interest  and  sympathy  with  others 
that  is  much  better  for  society  than  the  isolation  of 
separate  interests  that  comes  from  ill-will,  ignor- 
ance, or  sloth.  And  could  the  motives  of  many  of 
the  leaders  and  supporters  of  labor  organizations  be 
analyzed,  who  doubts  but  that  acts  of  self-sacrifice 
as  noble  as  those  of  the  Earl  of  Shaftsbury  would 
be  found?  The  giving  up  of  the  scanty  leisure 
time,  the  possible  increase  of  knowledge  from  inter- 
change of  ideas  in  their  meetings,  the  direct  asist- 
ance  given  from  their  small  earnings  to  the  more 
unfortunate,  to  the  sick  and  afflicted,  the  sympathy 
and  union  of  interests  necessary  to  effect  a  legis- 
lative measure — these  are  all  means  which  assist  in 
making  minds  more  receptive  of  new  ideas  and 
truth  when  it  shall  be  presented  to  them.  As  the 
factor}'  legislation  in  Massachusetts  is  so  nearly  like 
that  of  England,  it  is  not  necessary  to  consider  it 
in  detail.  But  in  the  United  States  more  attempts 
are  made  in  the  assistance  and  indirect  protection 
given,  through  the  appointment  by  the  state  of 
greater  numbers  of  inspectors,  commissioners, 
boards  of  arbitration,  bureaus  of  labor  statistics,  etc. 
Public  opinion,  or  even  a  sentiment  or   fashion, 


THE  STATE.  81 

moves  in  waves  through  a  state  or  country,  and 
fifty  years,  or  even  a  shorter  time,  may  see  an 
entire  change  in  public  thought  upon  a  question.  A 
movement  which  was  orignated  with  much  self- 
sacrifice  may  become  so  changed  by  lower  motives 
of  leaders  that  the  lofty  character  of  acts  resulting 
may  disappear  for  a  time;  on  the  other  hand, 
worthy  leaders  may  succeed  and  what  was  the 
thought  and  purpose  of  a  few,  may  become  the 
common  possession  of  society,  moulding  thoughts 
and  customs.  Compared  with  fifty  years  ago,  it  is 
the  fashion  now  to  legislate  in  behalf  of  the  unfor- 
tunate, disqualified  classes  in  society. 

When  we  come  to  study  railroad  legislation  on 
the  side  of  its  inception  or  motive -side,  two  difficul- 
ties are  met;  the  custom  for  the  State  to  assist  in 
any  wise  legislation  was  to  a  degree  established, 
and  effective  railroad  legislation  is  so  recent  (if  it 
can  even  be  said  to  exist)  that  the  thoughts  and 
motives  of  those  who  have  labored  to  secure  greater 
equality  in  opportunities  in  railroad  business  are 
not  yet  open  to  the  student  in  the  pages  of  history. 
Therefore,  the  ethical  element  in  railroad  legisla- 
tion can  only  be  studied  in  the  nature  of  the  results 
sought  in  such  legislation. 

The  means  of  transportation,  the  canal,  the  sail- 
ing vessel,  the  stage-coach,  the  private  carrier,  before 
1828,  are  familiar  to  all.     From  an  historical  point 


82  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

of  view  we  would  expect  as  the  methods  of  produc- 
tion by  machinery  were  introduced,  the  means  of 
transportation  and  communication  would  also 
change. 

We  find  that  in  the  very  beginning  of  railroads 
there  was  a  class  who  considered  that  their  rights 
were  infringed  upon — the  owners  of  the  land  which 
should  be  used  for  the  road-beds.  Although  com- 
pensated for  the  land,  they  did  not  like  to  have 
their  acres  cut  in  pieces,  neither  did  the  dwellers 
near  by  wish  to  be  disturbed  by  the  noise  of  the 
locomotive.  So  from  the  beginning  the  State 
assisted  these  people  to  give  up  private  selfish 
interests  for  the  good  of  the  whole. 

The  sense  of  convenience  and  cheapness  soon  led 
to  a  general  desire  for  railroads.  Not  even  a  char- 
ter was  always  considered  necessary  for  construc- 
tion. Railroads  seemed  only  a  benefit  to  society. 
They  were  indispensible  in  the  long  distances  of 
the  West.  The  new  Western  farmers  were  wholly 
at  the  mercy  of  the  transporters  of  their  produce. 
As  always  happens  when  there  is  too  great  depend- 
ence of  one  person  upon  another,  or  of  one  class 
upon  another,  power  was  abused.  The  rates 
charged  were  exorbitant.  The  agitation,  begun  by 
the  abused  class  themselves,  was  endorsed  by  others 
who  were  willing  to  consider  and  work  for  the  good 
of  the  oppressed,  until,  by  the  Granger  legislation. 


THE  STATE.  83 

1870-77,  the  railroads  were  forced  to  yield  some  of 
their  assumed  rights  and  have  rates  regulated  by 
the  State. 

But,  by  the  commissioners  appointed  to  fix 
reasonable  rates,  the  interests  of  the  few  were  so 
often  set  over  against  those  of  the  many,  that  the 
result  was  contrary  to  what  was  expected  and  the 
laws  were  repealed  or  cautiously  enforced.  To 
avoid  the  difficulty  attending  the  adjustment  of  a 
"reasonable  rate,"  a  commission  of  another  kind, 
was  tried  in  the  East.  In  1869  the  Massachusetts 
commission  was  established.  By  taking  away  the 
privilege  of  secrecy  from  railroads,  it  sought  to 
regulate  the  interests  of  all  classes  by  inspection 
and  reports.  As  Prof .  Hadley  says:  "Gradually 
but  surely,  they  introduced  improvements  in 
accounting,  which  since  1878  have  been  further 
extended  by  the  commissions  of  other  States.  In 
the  same  way  they  virtually  compelled  the  roads  to 
adopt  safety  appliances,  by  educating  public  opin- 
ion to  a  point  where  it  demanded  such  action.  And 
in  the  same  way  they  exercised  a  decisive  influence 
on  the  policy  of  the  railroads  with  regard  to  rates, 
leading  them  to  develop  their  local  business, 
instead  of  confining  attention  to  the  through  busi- 
ness." 

But  those  things,  which  the  Massachusetts  com- 
mission sought  to  do  for  a  State,  are  some  of  the 


84  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

problems  before  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Com- 
mission. Since  1865,  when  the  central  government 
authorized  through  connections,  the  importance 
and  the  necessity  of  Federal  regulation  of  inter- 
state commerce  has  become  more  evident.  The 
efforts  culminated  in  the  passage  of  the  act  of 
February,  1887. 

In  contrast  with  the  anticipations  of  what  rail- 
roads would  do  for  the  country,  the  evils  that  have 
come  alongside  the  advantages  are  surprising.  At 
times  the  thought  of  the  good  of  all  classes,  and 
even  of  their  just  rights,  seems  to  be  wanting. 
The  rights  and  privileges  of  the  various  classes, 
directors,  managers,  stock -holders,  employees, 
shippers,  consumers,  and  the  general  public,  appear 
to  be  mingled  in  hopeless  confusion. 

The  "Act  to  regulate  commerce  "  recognizes  the 
evils,  and,  by  a  commission,  having  investigating, 
coercive  and  judicial  powers,  it  attempts  to  regulate 
or  eradicate  them.  The  law  attempts  to  establish 
reasonable  and  just  rates  and  equal  facilities  for 
interchange  of  traffic  between  different  lines;  it 
notes  the  fact  that  the  classes  most  needing  rail- 
road "  passes  "  seldom  receive  them,  and  therefore 
tries  to  limit  the  number;  it  seeks  to  limit  the 
power  of  the  one  or  the  few  who  recklessly  manipu- 
late stock,  and  overpower  weaker  roads  to  increase 
their   own    millions;  .it    seeks  to  prevent  personal 


THE  STATE.  85 

discriminations  in  rates,  that  the  large  business 
corporations  may  not  so  easily  crush  the  smaller 
ones  and  so  control  prices;  it  seeks  to  prevent  local 
discrimination,  that  the  shippers  of  small  towns 
may  have  equal  advantages  of  transportation  with 
those  of  larger  cities;  it  forbids  the  formation  of 
pools,  for  fear  that  there  may  be  a  combination, 
and  perhaps  a  consolidation  of  the  great  trunk-lines, 
and  thus  a  railroad  king  who  would  have  almost 
absolute  power  over  the  industrial  interests  of  the 
country;  it  demands  that  accounts  and  established 
rates  shall  be  open  to  the  public,  and  encourages 
uniformity  in  book-keeping,  since  by  these  means 
it  hopes  to  lessen  the  temptation  to  misapply  the 
earnings  of  the  road,  to  secure  to  the  stock-holders 
regular  dividends,  and  to  remove  the  occasion  for 
suspicion  of  the  doings  of  railroads  often  shown  by 
the  general  public;  it  provides  means  for  statistical 
reports,  that  the  railroad  companies,  stock-holders, 
shippers,  and  all  interested,  may  see  reflected 
therein  the  exact  condition  of  all  the  forces  con- 
cerned. 

Whether  the  power  of  the  Inter- State  Commerce 
Commission  is  sufficient  to  enforce  the  provisions 
of  the  law  cannot  yet  be  determined.  Whether 
further  legislation  in  the  same  lines,  either  in  refer- 
ence to  railroads  or  manufactories,  is  needed,  must 
be  decided  from  the  standpoint  of  economy  as  well 


86  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

as  ethics.  But  since  the  true  aim  of  a  nation  is  not 
simply  to  become  rich,  but  to  secure  a  harmonious 
development  of  all  its  members,  any  legislation 
which  wilfully  violates  or  ignores  the  rights  of  any 
class  or  group  of  producers,  or  forgets  to  secure 
the  good  of  an  oppressed  class,  cannot  in  the  long 
run  prove  to  be  correct  legislation,  even  from  the 
standpoint  of  economy. 

If  we  notice,  from  our  illustrations,  the  kinds  of 
evils  that  experience  has  shown  it  is  necessary  to 
meet  by  legislation,  given  the  usual  weaknesses  of 
the  human  mind,  we  find  that  different  kinds  of 
abuses  are  rendered  possible  because  of  the  nature 
of  the  industry.  Industries,  like  our  second 
example,  railroads,  come  in  Professor  Adams' 
classification  *  under  industries  of  "  increasing 
returns."  From  the  side  of  economy,  Professor 
Adams  concludes  that  the  State  should  regu- 
late those  industries  in  which  the  returns  are 
increasing,  that  is,  in  those  industries  in  which  for 
every  added  increment  of  capital  there  is  a  greater 
proportional  return,  there  is  a  probability  that 
prices  will  be  controlled  by  a  few  strong  leaders  in 
the  industrial  world.  From  the  standpoint  of 
ethics,  in  industries  of  this  class,  if  one  productive 
process,  or  one  line  of  transportation,  can  supply 

♦Relation  of  the  State  to  Industrial  Action,"  by  H. 
C.  Adams. 


THE  STATE.  87 

the  needs  of  the  community  or  State,  there  is  a 
possibility  of  a  complete  monopoly.  The  first  in 
time,  or  the  more  skillful  in  manipulation,  shuts 
out  all  others.  An  equality  of  opportunity  is 
denied  and  some  who  have  special  ability  in  that 
line  of  work  are  kept  out,  and  so  fail  to  develop  an 
individuality  that  might  have  returned  to  society  in 
a  large  measure.  With  the  inequality  of  oppor- 
tunity and  the  consequent  inequality  in  results  of 
industry,  there  is  a  probability  that  there  will  be  a 
lower  standard  of  living, — and  the  less  the  degree 
of  comfort  in  the  home,  the  less  the  physical  energy 
and  courage,  the  less  the  hope  and  anticipation  of 
the  future,  and  the  fewer  the  incentives  for  better- 
ing the  present  condition.  And  if  the  State  assists 
and  makes  the  conditions  of  the  industry  such  that 
there  can  be  greater  equality  of  opportunity,  there 
is  more  probability  that  the  ideals,  the  "  ought  to 
be ''  of  the  individuals  concerned,  will  be  realized 
to  a  greater  degree  than  would  otherwise  happen. 

Included  in  this  class  are  railroads,  telegraphs, 
telephones,  express  business,  also  municipal  sup- 
plies, as  water,  light,  street  railways,  etc.       , 

It  might  also  seem  that  manufactures  could  be 
included  in  this  class,  but  when  monopoly  in  this 
line  of  industry  exists,  it  is  of  a  different  character, 
or,  as  Mr.  Bonham  tells  us,  the  strength  of  busi- 
ness  organizations   like   the  Standard  Oil  Trust, 


88 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


depend  largely  upon  the  secret  alliances  and  bar- 
gains with  the  railroads  and  the  rebates  received 
from  them.  There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  the 
productive  process  in  manufacturing  that  forbids 
multiplication.  And  also  Professor  Clark  states 
that  a  report  of  textile  industries  for  a  series  of 
years  gives  an  average  in  return  of  about  a  normal 
interest.  Manufactures,  then,  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions, would  have  constant  returns,  and  in  such 
industries  the  opportunity  for  the  capitalist  to  get 
more  than  his  proportional  share  of  the  product  is 
not  great,  and  Professor  Adams  concludes  that,  as 
far  as  prices  are  concerned,  industries  of  constant 
returns  "are  adequately  controlled  by  competitive 
action. r 

But  when  the  ethical  principle  is  applied,  there 
is  opportunity  for  the  class  taking  the  risk  and 
responsibility  to  forget,  or  to  be  neglectful,  of  the 
good  of  those  associated  with  them  in  business  rela- 
tions. This  is  especially  true  since  in  many  indus- 
tries of  this  class,  a  large  investment  of  capital  is 
necessary  before  the  industry  can  be  undertaken, 
and  the  fear  that  the  investment  may  be  a  losing 
one,  leads  to  a  reluctance  to  spend  additional 
amounts  in  safe  machinery,  leads  to  an  exaction  of 
the  greatest  number  of  hours  of  work  possible,  to 
the  employment  of  women  and  children,  and  to  a 
slackness    and  irregularity  in    payment  of  wages. 


THE  STATE.  S9" 

Since  industries  of  this  class  present  tbese  oppor- 
tunities for  selfishness  and  forgetfulness,  the  State 
comes  forward  and  assists  by  regulating  the  condi- 
tions of  production,  and  so  prevents  the  physical, 
mental  and  moral  deterioration  of  society. 

Some  of  the  industries  of  this  class  are :  different 
kinds  of  manufacturing,  cotton,  woolen,  iron,, 
leather,  wood,  etc. ;  business  organizations  for  facil- 
itating exchange  of  supplies,  such  as  stores,  ship- 
ping-companies, etc. 

What  shall  be  said  of  the  kinds  of  industries 
known  under  the  general  head  of ''agriculture?" 
Shall  we  consider  its  "  possibilities  "  or  its  "  proba- 
bilities?'' Is  agriculture  an  industry  of  invariably 
diminishing  returns  ?  How  has  it  been  in  our  own 
country  in  the  period  of  "land  exploitation?"  In 
older  sections  near  large  centers  of  population, 
where  "  intensive  farming  "  continues  and  increases 
the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil,  are  the  returns  neces- 
sarily diminishing?  Professor  Adams  states  that 
industries  of  diminishing  returns  are  "  adequately 
controlled  by  competitive  action,"  and  that  there  is 
"  no  call  for  government  farming." 

But  it  is  true  of  this  class  of  industries,  as  of  the 
preceding,  that  the  State  can  and  does  assist  in 
securing  ethical  results,  by  regulating  the  condi- 
tions of  labor.  Also  there  may  be  need  of  help 
and  encouragement  to  those  who  take  the  initiative 


90 


THE  ETIIhAI.    PRINCIPLE. 


responsibility.  If  there  was  any  thought  beyond 
that  of  the  increase  of  the  material  resources  of  our 
country,  this  desire  of  having  a  strong  hopeful 
olaea  in  new  portions  of  the  country,  must  have 
prompted  the  Government  to  make  rapid  and 
almost  free  distribution  of  the  land  in  the  earlier 
days  of  our  country.  It  may  lie  that  the  apparent 
Q*ed  of  continuing  that  assistance,  as.  for  instance, 
in  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  department 
in  the  Cabinet,  is  paused  by  excessive  legislation 
favoring  some  other  industries — legislation  based 
not  upon  any  consistent  ethical  principle,  but  upon 
favoritism  to  special  industrial  groups— and  that 
such  legislation  has  produced  an  abnormal  condi- 
tion, so  that  one  channel  of  assistance  and  influence 
must  be  off-set  by  another,  in  order  to  produce  an 
equilibrium. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  causes  rendering 
the  assistance  of  the  State  necessary,  farther  than 
a  regulation  of  the  conditions  of  labor,  the  State  in 
attempts  at  assistance  recognizes  the  funda- 
mental character  of  agriculture,  the  dependence  of 
other  industries  upon  it,  and  therefore  the  depend- 
ence upon  it  of  the  very  stability  of  society  itself. 

The  foregoing  illustrations  serve  as  types  of  the 
different  channels  of  assistance  from  the  State 
through  legislation.  If  the  history  of  the  specific 
laws  has  been  correctly  interpreted,  there  is  a  defi- 


I 


THE  STATE.  91 

nite  relation  of  a  completed  written  law,  as  express- 
ing a  standard  whereby  to  justly  measure  the  deeds 
of  individuals,  to  the  motives  in  which  the  law 
originated  and  to  the  results  of  that  law  in  society. 
Laws  that  time  has  proved  to  be  most  beneficial  to 
society  have  had  an  inception  in  motives  that  place 
the  good  of  society  before  private  immediate  good 
to  the  individual;  therefore,  as  the  application  of 
the  ethical  principle  in  State  relations  becomes 
general  and  more  nearly  complete,  the  resulting 
laws  as  standards  of  justice  will  be  more  nearly 
perfect,  and  greater  will  be  the  progress  of  the 
nation. 

B.         THERE    ARE    LIMITS    TO    WISE       STATE-ACTION. 

(a)     There  may  be  too  much  legislation  even  in  the 

beneficial  lines. 

If  the  State  is  so  strong  a  helper  and  defender 
of  the  rights  of  its  members,  why  can  not  all  phases 
of  state-relations  come  under  its  jurisdiction,  have 
a  general  settlement  and  then  go  on  smoothly  ever 
afterwards? 

The  will  of  man  is  essentially  freedom;  and  when- 
ever the  State  would  take  away  from  any  individual 
or  class  rights  that  are  inherent  in  the  personality 
of  man,  just  then  the  State  begins  a  process  of  de- 
struction of  its  members,  and  so  begins  a  process 
of  dissolution  and  death.  Man's  thoughts  are  his 
own;  the   expression    of   thought,   when   that   ex- 


92  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

pression  does  not  injure  another  member  of  society 
is  his  own  right;  man's  control  over  his  physical 
energy,  and  over  as  much  of  his  environment  as  he 
can  assimilate  or  acquire  by  the  free  consent  of 
others,  is  his. own:  these  are  the  fundamental  rights 
of  man:  and  whenever  in  the  past  the  State  has 
made  laws  taking  away  any  of  these  rights  from 
any  class  in  society,  results  detrimental  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  State  have  followed. 

The  Massachusetts  colony  found  that  the  invasion 
of  the  right  of  belief  in  the  requirement  of  church- 
membership  for  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage 
was  incompatible  with  the  development  of  free  insti- 
tutions. "In  1631,  it  was  decided  that  ;no  man 
shall  be  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  this  body  politic, 
but  such  as  are  members  of  some  of  the  churches 
within  the  limits  of  the  same/  "  In  this  regulation 
which  attempts  in  reality  to  set  up  an  external 
measure  for  one's  belief,  the  State  infringed  upon 
fundamental  rights  of  man's  personality,  and  the 
troublous  experience  of  Massachusetts,  while  such 
a  measure  remained  in  force,  shows  the  results. 

We  have  already  noticed  a  few  of  the  non-ethical 
results  which  followed  from  the  abridgment  of  the 
right  of  freedom  of  speech  in  the  establishment  of 
the  "censorship  of  the  press." 

No  more  significant  illustrations  of  an  invasion 
of  fundamental  rights  can  be  found  than  the  "  Sta- 


THE  STATE.  93 

tute  of  Laborers,''  about  the  middle  of  the  four- 
teenth ceniury  and  the  really  supplementary  act, 
the  "  Poor  Law"  of  the  time  of  Elizabeth. 

According  to  the  former,  "  every  man  or  woman 
of  whatsoever  condition,  free  or  bond,  able  in  body, 
and  within  the  age  of  three-score  years — and  not 
having  of  his  own  whereof  he  may  live,  nor  land  of 
his  own  about  the  tillage  of  which  he  may  occupy 
himself,  and  not  serving  any  other,  shall  be  bound 
to  serve  the  employer  who  shall  require  him  to  do 
so,  and  shall  take  only  the  wages  which  were  accus- 
tomed to  be  taken  in  the  neighborhood  where  he  is 
bound  to  serve  two  years  before  the  plague  began. 
A  refusal  to  obey  was  punished  by  imprisonment."  * 

The  Poor  Law  with  its  provisions  for  over- assist- 
ance to  the  idle  and  vagabond  invaded  the  right  of 
a  man  to  self- determination;  a  premium  was  put 
on  inactivity  and  on  dependence  upon  others. 
The  system  of  rates  levied  upon  the  parishes  for 
the  assistance  of  the  poor,  dispensed  as  "out-door" 
relief  took  away  from  many  able-bodied  men  the 
sense  of  responsibility  for  the  support  of  recklessly 
large  families.  The  ''Act  of  Settlement"  by  en- 
forcing a  continued  residence  in  the  same  locality 
took  away  from  the  laborer  the  possibility  of  soiling 
his  work  in  a  more  favorable  market.     As  Profes- 


*A  short  history  of  the  English  people,  pp.  263-264: 
J.  R.  Green. 


94  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

sor  James  states:*  "  In  1601,  the  famous  Poor 
Law  was  enacted  which,  with  the  supplementary 
acts,  completed  a  system  of  legislation  which  did  as 
much  to  degrade  the  laboring  man  and  prevent 
him  from  rising  out  of  hopeless  dependence  and 
poverty  as  the  most  bitter  enemies  of  labor  or  the 
most  warm-hearted  partizans  of  privilege  could 
desire." 

Closely  allied  with  the  above  kind  of  legislation 
are  the  laws  made  in  the  interest  of  some  section 
or  class  or  industrial  group.  Such  legislation  is  not 
properly  legislation.  The  underlying  thought  of 
law  of  whatever  kind  is  its  universality,  since  it  is  the 
form  for  the  expression  of  a  universal  activity  in  any 
given  realm.  Unless  a  law  of  the  State  expresses  the 
thought  of  the  whole,  it  expresses  the  desires  and 
supplies  the  needs  of  a  favored  few  at  the  expense 
of  the  rights  of  the  many.  Such  legislation  may 
not  take  away  the  inherent  rights  of  any  class  in 
society,  but,  in  according  extraordinary  privileges 
to  some,  others  will  be  deprived  of  needful  oppor- 
tunities for  self- development.  It  is  sad  to  relate 
that  during  nearly  every  session  of  State  legisla- 
tures, and  of  the  National  Assembly,  there  are 
attempts  to  pass  laws  of  this  kind  which  too  often  are 
successful :  among  the  recent  ones  that  have  attracted 
a  good  deal  of  attention  are  u  River  and  Harbor 

*The  Labor  Movement  the  Problem  of  To-day,  p.  14. 


THE   STATE. 


95 


Bills,"  favoring  unjustly  appropriations  of  money  to 
one  locality  over  another;  the  McKinley  Tariff  Bill, 
favoring  classes  of  industry ;  the  repeal  of  the  Ben- 
net  Law  of  Wisconsin,  which,  by  removing  the  com- 
pulsory education  requirements  in  the  English  lan- 
guage, favors  the  establishment  of  local  Germanies, 
Hungaries,  etc.,  and  encourages  the  establishment 
of  sectarian  schools. 

There  is,  therefore,  a  large  sphere  in  industrial, 
political,  social  and  church  relations,  where  the 
direct  assistance  of  the  State  is  injurious:  all  legis- 
lation that  takes  away  man's  freedom  of  thought  or 
belief;  that  deprives  man  of  his  fundamental  rights, 
freedom  of  ownership  of  his  body  and  of  his  own 
energy,  physical  and  mental,  freedom  of  ownership 
of  a  sufficient  amount  of  his  environment  upon  which 
to  expend  his  energies,  and,  implied  in  these  forms 
of  ownership,  the  right  of  freedom  of  contract;  and 
that  legislation  which  does  not  take  away  funda- 
mental rights,  but  grants  rights  to  a  few  or  to  a 
class  in  society,  so  that  another  class  has  not  the 
opportunity  of  needful  self- development,  is  included 
in  this  sphere  of  injurious  state  actionS 

(b)     Also  in  many  relations  of  society,  assistance 
from    the  State  other    than    protective   laws    is 
unnecessary. 
All  growth  of  the  human  mind  is  the  result  of 

activity  and  effort;    and,   as   voluntary   assistance 


(.JH  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

from  one  member  of  society  to  another,  when  the 
work  can  be  done  equally  well  without  assistance, 
injures  the  individuality  of  the  assisted  member, 
so,  assistance  from  the  State  when  an  equilibrium 
can  be  preserved  without  it,  only  corrupts  and 
destroys  the  individuality  of  the  assisted  class. 
Although  in  many  relations  of  society  special  con- 
structive measures  of  the  State  are  not  needed  for 
the  development  of  society,  yet  the  protective 
measures  and  the  fundamental'  constructive  meas- 
ures, or  what  is  known  as  "legal  organization,"  is 
presupposed. 

The  special  constructive  measures  of  the  State 
are  not  needed  in  the  field  of  competitive  action  in 
the  industrial  world,  and  in  the  general  social 
relations  of  society. 

In  these  many  relations  the  applications  of  the 
ethical  principle  are  not  of  less  importance  than 
those  that  have  been  considered:  but  since  the  acts 
of  an  individual  concern  one  or  a  few  members  of 
society,  the  surrender  of  selfish  interests  for  the 
good  of  others  becomes  private  in  its  character. 

But  many  of  the  forms  of  voluntary  organiza- 
tion of  industry  at  the  present  day  give  to  almost 
«very  kind  of  industry  a  quasi-public  character; 
and  also,  the  very  unity  of  the  organic  structure  of 
society  presupposes  the  dependence  of  one  kind  of 
industry  upon  another,  so  that  the   business  cus- 


THE  STATE.  97 

toms  and  methods  of  one  industrial  group  affect  all 
others.  As  we  have  seen,  the  customs  of  society 
are  made  over  or  changed  by  the  motives  of  the 
members  of  society.  The  present  inquiry  is 
limited  to  a  consideration  of  the  ethical  principle 
in  the  so-called  field  of  competitive  industrial  activ 
ity;  or  it  is  an  inquiry  into  the  range  of  motives 
possible  to  an  individual  in  his  business  relations. 

We  have  already  seen  that  a  motive  is  a  thought 
and  that  a  man  is  responsible  for  his  thoughts  or 
motives.  All  relations  of  society  are  those  of  the 
self  to  the  other  members  of  society.  The  acts  of 
man  in  his  business  dealings  will  be  based  upon 
one  or  the  other  of  two  positions  — either  self  will 
be  placed  first,  or  others  will  be  considered  first; 
and  therefore  the  ruling,  motive  in  business  rela- 
tions may  be  that  of  self-interest  or  that  of  altruism. 
(All  motives  lower  than  that  of  self-interest,  that 
is,  motives  to  destroy  the  good  deeds  of  society,  do 
not  have  even  a  recognized  place  in  business  rela- 
tions.) Although  a  man  may  act  in  his  business 
relations  without  any  conscious  formulation  of  a 
motive,  yet  he  acts  according  to  custom,  and  the 
customs  that  he  follows  have  been  formed  in 
accordance  with  one  or  the  other  motive  of  differ 
ent  minds. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  largo  body  of 
precepts,    maxims   and    principles   that,   form    the 


98  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

basis  of  Political  Economy  have  come  into  being 
without  a  conscious  thought-process  in  which  they 
originated.  Even  the  simplest  act  of  exchange,  or 
of  the  satisfaction  of  one's  wants  involves  a  motive. 
A  large  number  of  these  general  principles  based 
upon  the  most  customary  acts  in  business  relations, 
and  these  acts  in  turn  based  upon  the  nature  of 
man  and  his  relation  to  his  material  surroundings, 
are  now  accepted  as  principles  sufficiently  universal 
and  well  established  to  form  the  positive  part  of 
Political  Economy,  the  part  sometimes  called  the 
positive  science  of  Political  Economy.* 

While  these  general  principles  of  Political  Econ- 
omy are  sufficiently  established  in  practice  and  in 
formulation  to  be  rightfully  considered  as  the  basis 
of  the  "  science,"  yet  it  must  not  therefore  be 
supposed  that  these  principles  have  sprung  up 
spontaneously  and  ready-made.  The  history  of  in- 
dustrial society  shows  that  the  customs  of  the  indus- 
trial world  have  been  of  slow  growth,  and  also  his- 
tory shows  that  the  systematizing  of  the  princi- 
ples has  had  a  like  slow  evolution.  Even  the  most 
fundamental  ideas  like  wealth  and  utility  and 
value,  etc.,  depend  for  their  significance  upon  the 
view  that  one  takes  of  the  nature  of  man  and  his 
relation  to  the  external  world.     Such  an  investiga- 

*See  "Scope  and  Method  in  Political  Economy,"  p. 
4(5,  ft  seq  :  John  N.  Keynes. 


THE  STATE.  99 

tion  of  the  nature  of  the  wants  of  man  and  the 
dependence  of  these  wants  upon  the  thought  of 
man,  and  of  the  process  in  thought  itself,  and  of 
thought  as  manifested  in  the  universe,  and  of  the 
possibility  of  thought  to  assume  different  forms 
and  yet  jpe  essentially  one  thought- process,  does 
not  come  properly  in  Political  Economy,  but  in 
Logic,  not  formal  logic,  but  the  real,  the  Hegelian 
kind  of  Logic. 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  principles  that  are 
ultimate  for  Political  Economy  may  not  be  ultimate 
when  considered  from  another  standpoint.  'And 
while  even  the  positive  part  of  Political  Economy 
need  not  concern  itself  too  particularly  with  the 
philosophical  principles  upon  which  the  basal 
principles  of  Economy  rest,  yet  these  basal  prin- 
ciples must  be  formulated  in  such  a  manner  that 
their  interpretation  from  a  philosophical  standpoint 
will  admit  of  the  most  comprehensive  thought  yet 
given  to  the  philosophical  world;  or,  if  these  prin- 
ciples are  not  so  stated  there  results  a  "  science  n 
which  is  merely  "  opinions  "  of  different  writers. 

In  very  much  the  same  way  that  Economics  is 
based  upon  principles  which  in  turn  are  discovered 
by  a  philosophic  insight  into  the  nature  of  man 
and  things,  is  Ethics  based  upon  Psychology  and 
Philosophy.  Ethics  has  for  its  province  the  inves- 
tigation of  the  will-side  of  man — the  "substantial 


100  THE  ETHICAL  PBINCIPLE. 

will "  or  thought,  as  motives,  and  the  "formal  will" 
or  action.  But  these  fundamental  principles  of 
Ethics  must  be  based  upon  a  correct  insight  into 
the  "freedom  of  the  will,"  into  the  development  of 
the  substantial  will  or  thought,  into  the  inherent 
self- activity,  and,  therefore,  the  continuance  of 
thought,  or  the  immortality  of  the  individual,  and 
into  the  relation  of  finite  self  determined  individuals 
to  an  infinite,  absolutely  self-determined  Being,  or 
Absolute  Personality.  As  in  Political  Economy  it 
is  only  necessary  to  be  sure  that  the  basal  princi- 
ples ^are  correct  from  the  logical  and  philosophical 
standpoint,  so  in  Ethics  it  is  only  necessary  that 
the  nature  of  the  will  and  thought  of  finite  indi- 
viduals, developing  in  and  through  the  institutions 
of  society,  be  clearly  understood  in  order  to  con- 
tinue the  investigation  into  the  process  of  the 
development  of  the  individual  will  in  union  with 
other  wills,  and  into  the  results  of  different  phases 
of  development  in  the  organic  unity  of  society. 

Given  the  "positive  part"  of  Economics  and 
of  Ethics,  each  has  a  field  of  inquiry  into  the 
practical  application  of  these  principles  in  the 
industrial  relations  of  members  of  society:  (there 
are  practical  applications  of  ethical  principles  in 
other  realms  than  the  industrial,  bat  these  are  not 
considered  at  this  time).  A  consideration  of  the 
practical    application   of    economic    principles    is 


THE  STATE.  101 

known  as  "applied  economics,"  or  as  the  "Art  of 
Political  Economy;"  a  consideration  of  ethical 
principles  in  their  practical  workiDgs  in  institu- 
tions of  society  is  known  as  "  applied  ethics."  In 
relation  to  some  of  the  phenomena  of  industrial 
society,  applied  economics  and  applied  ethics  map 
mean  the  same  thing;  but  there  may  also  be  dis- 
tinguished a  difference.  Applied  ethics  has  for 
its  province,  more  particularly,  a  consideration  of 
the  kinds  of  motives  that  it  is  possible  for  the 
human  mind  to  originate,  the  acts  which  result 
from  these  motives,  and  the  results  of  these 
motives  and  acts  in  specific  industrial  relations; 
while  applied  economics,  instead  of  emphasizing 
the  motive  side,  considers  more  carefully  the 
environment  side  of  the  individual.  In  other 
words,  applied  economics  begins  with  the  combina- 
tions of  circumstances  which  tend  to  change  the 
lines  of  activity  of  individuals  in  business,  and  in 
thus  putting  the  stress  upon  one's  surroundings, 
there  is  the  likelihood  that  the  individual  will  be 
considered  as  acting  from  a  given  very  limited  set 
of  motives  with  no  power  in  himself  to  change 
those  motives;  and  also,  applied  ethics,  in  putting 
the  stress  upon  the  motive  side,  the  freedom  side 
of  the  individual,  is  likely  to  ignore  the  fact  that 
circumstances  often  compel  a  man  to  act  for  a  time 
fromless  noble  motives  than  he  desires  to  put  in  action. 


102  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

In  the  development  of  either,  applied  economics 
or  applied  ethics,  the  fundamental  logical  princi- 
ples are  the  same;  also,  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples or  the  accepted  positive  part  of  Political 
Economy  should  remain  unchanged;  and  also  the 
basal  principles  of  pure  Ethics. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  two  general  motives  in  busi- 
ness relations  are  those  of  self-interest  and  altru- 
ism, that  is,  all  the  possible  grades  of  thought  may 
be  resolved  into  one  or  the  other.  If  it  be  said  that 
a  person  need  not  take  a  decided  motive  either  one 
kind  or  the  other,  y.et  either  he  does  or  he  follows 
custom ;  and  these  customs  have  had  a  formation  in 
a  conscious  thought -process  at  the  initial  stage  of 
their  development,  and  these  customs  are  in  a  large 
measure  the  environment  side  of  the  individual. 

In  the  past,  it  has  been  much  the  fashion  to 
consider  man  in  his  industrial  relations  as  acting 
wholly  from  the  motive  of  self-interest;  this  has 
been  done  by  different  writers  for  two  different 
reasons,  to  simplify  the  industrial  elements  that  the 
course  of  reasoning  may  proceed  from  simple  to 
complex  phenomena,  and  also  because  men  have 
been  really  regarded  as  having  use  in  business  re- 
lations, for  the  motive  of  self-interest  only,  and  that 
any  higher  motives  could  have  a  place  only  in 
social,  family  and  church  relations. 

If  we  consider  some  illustrations  from  business 


THE  STATE.  103 

relations,  we  may  be  able  to  see  how  the  same 
question  will  appear  from  different  standpoints, 
that  is,  we  will  try  to  look  at  the  same  set  of  phe- 
nomena from  the  standpoint  of  the  motive  of  self- 
interest,  and  from  that  of  altruism;  and  also  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  environment,  that  is,  of 
applied  economics.  To  simplify  matters,  the£e 
illustrations  will  correspond  to  the  classical  divisions 
of  Political  Economy,  "fundamental  principles," 
•'consumption,"  "production."  and  "exchange  and 
distribution."  » 

These  three  standpoints  may  be  broadly  taken 
to  represent  three  positions  of  writers,  upon  sub- 
jects of  Economy:  that  of  self-interest,  nominally 
the  standpoint  of  Mill  and  those  in  agreement  with 
him;  that  of  emphasis  upon  environment,  the 
standpoint  of  Marshall  and  other  leading  writers 
on  Political  Economy  of  the  present  day;  that  of 
altruism,  the  standpoint  of  men  of  strong  faith  or 
remarkable  insight  into  the  possible  adjustments  in 
industrial  relations. 

The  fundamental  elements  or  principles  of 
Political  Economy  are  the  same  when  consid 
ered  from  any  or  all  of  the  three  standpoints; 
that  is,  there  is  the  space-element,  the  time 
element,  forces  of  the  material  universe  or  wealth, 
and  man's  energy  both  mental  and  physical.  And 
the  same  problem  presents  itself,  the  best  adap- 


9 


104 


THK   KTHICAL   PRINCIPLE. 


tation  of  wealth  to  the  needs  and  wants  of 
man.  The  "things"  of  the  world  are  brought 
into  just  the  same  direct  relation  to  his  spontaneous 
and  self-made  wants,  and  man  therefore  measures 
the  utility  of  the  objects  and  gives  them  a 
value.  Although  the  kinds  of  utilties  vary  in 
number  from  each  of  these  different  standpoints, 
yet  as  man's  wants  would  remain  there  would  still 
be  demand.  There  would  also  be  like  attempts  to 
adjust  the  supply  to  the  demand. 

While  ^hese  "concepts"  as  fundamental  princi- 
ples remain  the  same  from  any  one  of  the 
three  standpoints,  the  practical  application  will 
vary;  as,  for  instance,  the  *;  economic  man  "  (calling, 
for  convenience,  the  man  who  emphasizes  self 
interest  the  "economic  man,"  and  the  man  who 
emphasizes  altruism  the  "  ethical  man,"  and  the 
man  who  recognizes  the  influences  of  environment 
upon  altruistic  motives  and  acts  accordingly,  the 
"  practical  man  " ) — the  economic  man,  in  considering 
the  course  of  action  when  he  has  a  desirable  "  corner 
lot"  for  sale,  decides  to  keep  the  lot  as  long  as  its 
value  increases  and  will  sell  for  the  highest  possible 
price,  irrespective  of  the  purposes  for  which  the 
lot  may  be  used,  or  what  public  interests  suffer  by 
the  retention  of  the  lot  in  his  private  possession  for 
so  long  a  time. 

The  ethical   man    refuses    to   sell   the    lot   if  it 


THE  STATE. 


105 


is  to  be  used  for  purposes  that  will  harm  his  neigh- 
bor, or  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  gamb- 
ling or  any  other  form  of  vice,  irrespective  of  the 
fact  that  a  very  high  price  is  offered  for  it;  but  if 
the  lot  be  needed  by  some  one  just  starting  a 
business  which  will  furnish  employment  for  those 
needing  work,  and  for  whose  product  there  is  ft 
legitimate  demand,  the  ethical  man  sells  for  such  a 
price  as  would  enable  the  less  fortunate  man  to  get 
a  good  start  in  business. 

The  practical  man,  before  selling  his  lot,, 
considers  the  history  of  business  in  the  town,  the 
probable  demand  for  building  lots  during  the  next 
few  years,  the  rate  of  increase  of  population,  the 
needs  of  the  would-be  purchaser  and  his  own 
resources^  and  with  the  aid  of  competent  judges, 
he  tries  to  strike  a  medium  between  his  own 
interests  and  those  of  the  purchaser,  and  sells  at  the 
time  when  the  equilibrium  of  interests  will  be  least 
disturbed. 

The  fundamental  considerations  of  the  "  market" 
are  the  same  from  all  the  given  standpoints;, 
business  transactions  must  be  based  upon  a  consid- 
eration of  "time"  and  "place,"  "initial  cost," 
"demand  and  supply,"  etc;  but  there  are  other 
elements  in  the  customs  of  the  market  which  can 
be  varied,  largely  depending  upon  the  individual 
standpoint. 


1(K)  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

The  economic  man,  having  ever  in  mind  the 
desire  of  advancing  his  own  interests,  does  not 
hesitate  to  put  the  best  articles  "on  top,"  or 
to  advertise  "  the  best  things  in  the  world " ;  does 
not  hesitate  to  keep  "leaders,"  or  to  advertise  to 
sell  for  a  certain  number  of  days  l*  below  cost," 
if  thereby  he  may  undersell  a  neighboring 
merchant,  and  bring  more  money  to  himself, 
irrespective  of  the  effect  upon  the  market  as  a 
whole ;  does  not  hesitate  to  monopolize  a  given  line 
of  business,  whoever  may  be  "  driven  to  the  wall  " 
in  consequence:  does  not  hesitate  to  "make  rates" 
or  to  take  "  rebates,"  or  to  evade  the  spirit  of  a 
law,  if  he  can  shield  himself  by  a  mere  technicality. 

The  ethical  man  condemns  all  the  above- 
mentioned  practices  of  the  economic  man.  A 
plain  statement  of  goods  and  their  prices  is 
the  kind  of  advertising  done  by  the  ethical  man. 
And  besides  the  evident  dishonesty  of  not  selling 
just  the  amount  and  kinds  of  goods  advertized,  the 
•ethical  man  has  a  due  regard  for  the  public 
standard  of  ethics  in  business  transactions,  and  he 
permits  no  desire  of  advancing  his  own  inter- 
ests to  induce  him  to  forget  the  interests  of 
those  associated  with  him  in  business  as  custom- 
ers, fellow-workers  or  dependents.  He  is  also 
willing  that  even  a  new-comer  shall  have  an 
opportunity  of  starting  in  the  same  line  of  business 


THE  STATE.  107 

in  which  he  himself  is  engaged,  and  if,  on  account  of 
greater  ability,  by  using  current  business  methods, 
he  can  outdo  him,  the  ethical  man  will  yield  the 
field  to  him  and  either  become  an  employe"  or  start 
business  in  a  new  line.  The  ethical  man  also 
assists  in  the  enforcement  of  a  law  made  in  the 
interest  of  the  public,  even  where  his  private 
pecuniary  interests  suffer. 

"Honest  goods  and  fair  profits  on  all,"  is 
the  motto  of  the  practical  man.  He  studies  the 
market  as  a  set  of  forces  which  must  be  kept  in 
a  stable  condition,  if  his  own  interests,  along  with 
others,  are  not  to  suffer.  This  interest  in  the 
"market"  is  not  thus  strong,  because  the  fluctua- 
tions may  mean  loss  and  suffering  to  many  human 
beings,  but  because  there  is  a  great  satisfaction  in 
being  able  to  interpret  and  perhaps  control  vast 
enterprises  and  to  feel  himself  in  touch  in  a  busi 
ness  way  with  the  remotest  parts  of  the  commer- 
cial world.  The  quality  of  his  goods  varies  just 
enough  from  the  trademark  to  escape  detection, 
that  he  may  preserve  the  confidence  of  his  cus- 
tomers. He  scorns  all  manner  of  dishonest  deal- 
ing, yet  he  is  on  the  lookout  that  no  one  gets  the 
better  of  him.  He  will  not  violate  a  law  of  the 
land,  neither  will  he  take  an  aggressive  position  in 
introducing  new  measures,  even  for  the  public 
good;  his  business  interests  may  suffer  by  such  a 


108  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

course  of  action,  and  while  recognizing  that  some 
one  ought  to  take  the  initiative,  he  is  reluctant  to 
take  any  steps  that  may  affect  his  business  pros- 
pects. To  the  practical  man,  the  most  economical 
adjustment  of  different  forms  of  wealth  to  the 
needs  and  wants  of  man  is  the  ultimate  object  or 
end  of  industrial  effort. 

The  self  centeredness  of  the  economic  man  often 
takes  the  form  of  lavish  expenditure  iQ  consumer's 
wealth.  This  economic  man  persuades  himself 
that,  since  he  keeps  a  large  number  of  servants  to 
minister  to  his  personal  pleasure  and  since  the 
destruction  of  utilities  gives  opportunity  for  new 
supplies,  therefore,  in  furnishing  or  giving  occasion 
for  employment  to  a  large  number  of  poorer  mem- 
bers of  the  community,  he  should  be  viewed  in  the 
light  of  a  benefactor  to  society. 

The  ethical  man  considers  that  such  a  course  of 
enlightened  self  interest  is  really  a  form  of  selfish- 
ness. The  ethical  man  consumes  that  he  may  live 
and  work,  the  above-type  M  economic  man  lives 
that  he  may  consume  as  much  wealth  as  possible. 
The  ethical  man  sees  the  fallacy  of  the  reasoning  of 
the  economic  man  and  puts  his  wealth,  beyond 
what  is  needed  for  the  healthful  needs  and  elevat- 
ing wants  of  his  family,  into  different  forms  of 
productive  enterprises.  He  also  invests  in  public 
museums,    art    galleries,    libraries,    and   different 


THE  STATE.  109 

forms  of  educational  efforts,  free  to  all  members  of 
the  community;  lie  realizes  that  such  kinds  of 
wealth  by  being  shared  are  increased  in  value. 

The  practical  man  regards  the  relation  of  wealth 
to  man's  needs  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  ethi- 
cal man;  except,  that  the  practical  man  sees  in  the 
consumption  of  so  many  pounds  of  bread,  meat, 
etc.,  so  many  units  of  working  force  that  can  be 
utilized  to  farther  increase  the  wealth  of  the  world. 
The  primary  consideration  for  increasing  the  com- 
fort of  the  worker  is  that  his  efficiency  may  be 
increased;  though,  through  the  improvement  of 
his  environment,  it  is  granted  that  be  will  become 
a  better  individual  and  a  more  worthy  member  of 
society. 

Production  is  the.  process  of  transforming  pri 
mary  utilities  into  those  more  directly  suited  to  the 
wants  of  man.  This  process  is  a  union  of  the  forces, 
" gifts  of  nature,"  and  the  energy  of  man;  but  as 
the  wants  of  man  become  complex,  the  production 
of  utilities  for  his  satisfaction  becomes  difficult  and 
often  requires  much  time.  From  whatever  stand- 
point '•  production "  is  considered,  there  will  be 
three   general  factors   in  the  productive  process: 

(1)  The  land,  at  a  degree  of  fertility  found  natur- 
ally, together  with  wind,  water,  air,  sunshine,  etc.; 

(2)  Capital, -or  that  force  whose  initial  energy  is 
represented  by  the  unconsumed  food-supply,  and 


110  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

whose  accumulation  is  due  to  the  element  of  time 
and  to  the  increasing  wants  of  man,  which, 
encroaching  upon  the  existing  "sustenance  fund/' 
indicate  new  and  wider  channels  for  the  directive 
effort  of  man  to  produce  new  grades  of  utilities; 
( 3)  The  expended  energy  of  man,  both  mental  and 
physical.  There  are  thus  for  each,  the  economic 
man,  the  ethical  man,  and  the  practical  man,  these 
same  fundamental  conditions  of  activity. 

As  an  agriculturist,  there  are  also  facts  to  be 
regarded  by  each,  among  which  are  the  follow- 
ing: that  land  at  the  degree  of  fertility  fur- 
nished by  nature  is  limited  in  quantity;  that,  in 
general,  land  is  subject  to  the  "law  of  diminishing 
returns."  But  the  significance  of  these  facts 
varies  from  the  different  standpoints. 

The  "economic  man''  takes  advantage  of  a  "legal 
structure"  that  enables  him  to  control  immense 
estates,  "bonauza  farms,"  "ranches,"  "sections," 
etc.,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  others  want  an 
opportunity  to  own  a  portion  of  the  limited  area 
of  the  earth's  surface.  The  law  permits  him  to  do 
this,  and  since  he  can  manage  so  many  tenants,  or 
workmen  successfully,  his  interests  will  be  best 
advanced  by  farming  on  the  large  scale,  and  as  he 
furnishes  employment  and  perhaps  produces  grain 
at  less  cost  than  could  be  done  with  "small  farm- 
inc,"  of    course  the  interests  of  all  will   be  best 


THE  STATE.  Ill 

advanced.  The  fact  that  a  large  working  force  is- 
required  in  the  summer  for  the  sowing,  planting 
and  gathering  of  the  crops,  that  in  "  large  farm- 
ing" there  is  nothing  for  employes  to  do  in  win- 
ter, and  that  they  are  therefore  discharged  to  wan- 
der over  the  country,  does  not  enter  into  the  calcu- 
lations of  the  economic  man.  The  workmen 
agreed  to  work  for  a  certain  price  and  when  that 
is  paid,  the  responsibility  of  the  employer  ends. 
The  fact  of  the  comparatively  small  amount  of 
the  earth's  surface  that  each  one  can  have  for 
his  own  use,  enters  strongly  into  the  thought  of 
the  ethical  man.  If  he  inherit  a  large  estate, 
or  come  into  possession  of  large  tracts  of  land, 
he  will  not  retain  it  that  he  may  have  the  returns 
from  it  for  his  own  exclusive  use.  Although  he- 
knows  that  he  can  manage  it  well  and  perhaps 
be  able  to  cultivate  it  and  obtain  a  larger 'product, 
and  he  may  by  reducing  the  cost  of  production 
or  by  increasng  the  supply  be  even  able  to  make 
grain  cheaper,  yet  he  will  not  keep  large  estates 
under  his  control.  He  realizes  that  it  is  necessary, 
in  order  that  individuality  be  developed,  that  an 
opportunity  be  given  for  each  one  to  exercise  his 
own  energy  upon  his  own  material  environment, 
and,  as  he  himself  wanted  this  opportunity,  he 
knows  that  others  desire  equal  opportunities  to* 
develop  their  potential  energies.     He  also  knows. 


112  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

that  unless  a  person's  energy  can  be  turned  into 
channels  productive  to  society,  it  will  destroy  the 
results  of  good  deeds  of  other  members  of  society. 
Considering  such  facts,  he  offers  to  sell  portions 
of  his  land  at  such  price  as  he  would  himself  be 
willing  to  pay;  or  he  leases  for  a  sufficiently 
long  time  so  that  the  tenant  may  have  a  per- 
sonal interest  in  the  use  and  improvement  of  the 
land;  or  he  tries  some  kind  of  association  farm- 
ing. In  some  way,  he  tries  to  give  others  the 
opportunity  for  exercising  the  control  over  external 
forces  and  for  independence  which  he  himself  so 
much  enjoys. 

The  practical  man  computes  carefully  the  advan- 
tages of  large  farming  to  society  as  a  whole;  the 
possibility  of  using  the  best  machinery,  of  saving 
much  time  by  doing  in  a  single  process  what  might 
require*  much  repetition  with  small  farmers,  of 
utilizing  through  overseers  a  much  lower  grade  of 
labor  than  could  otherwise  be  used;  and  by  reducing 
the  cost  of  production  he  can  sell  more  cheaply,  and 
as  a  result  many  people  could  have  better  food  and 
homes  than  would  be  possible  with  other  methods 
of  agriculture.  And  since  the  practical  man  is  not 
likely  to  emphasize  the  need  of  nurture  and  care  of 
individual  souls,  there  seems  to  him  more  symme- 
try and  organization  in  the  one-man  management 
of  a  large  estate  than  in  the  varied  and  sometimes 


THE  STATE.  113 

weak  attempts  of  other  farmers  in  management. 
Production  to  the  practical  man  is  a  net-work  of 
forces  that  must  be  skillfully  manipulated;  but  he 
sometimes  ignores  the  fact  that  the  condition  of 
dependence  of  the  employees  of  the  large  system 
of    agriculture    prevents  self-directed   effort    and 
therefore  growth,  and  that  this  loss  of  individuality 
eventually  weakens  the  productive  forces  of  society. 
For  the  manufacturer  (understanding  by  manu- 
facturers all  who  take   the   "raw  materials"  and 
shape  them  into  goods  of  "  second  or  higher  orders") 
as  a  producer,  the  conditions  must  be  other  than 
they  are  for  the  agriculturist.     From   the  nature 
of  tho  industry,  concentration  of  means  i3  neaessary. 
The  processes  are  so  interdependent  and  so  much 
machinery  is  necessary  that  great  waste  of  capital 
would  follow  a  separation  into   small    industries. 
The   kind   of    industry   influences  the   course    of 
action  of  each,  the  econmic,  the  practical,  and  the 
ethical  man.     The  position  of  the  economic  man  as 
a  manufacturer  is  well  illustrated   by  reference  to 
the  general  attitude  of  the  manufacturer  previous 
to  the  passage  of  the  Factory  Acts  already  referred 
to  (pp.  74-75 )  and  his  opposition  to  the  same.     The 
attitude  of  the  practical  man  is  suggested  in  the 
monograph  of  Prof  H.  C.  Adams,   "The  State  in 
Relation   to    Industries,"   especially   the    portions 
treating  of   industries  of  "  constant  returns."    The 


114  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

position  of  the  ethical  man   in   industries  of  this 
class  has  already  been  indicated  (p.  86). 

But  the  ethical  man,  besides  advocating  the 
regulation  by  law  of  conditions  of  labor,  is 
impressed  with  the  evils  that  are  necessary 
to  the  "  factory  system,"  —  evils  that  uniform 
action  of  the  kind  enforced  by  law  cannot  reach,, 
but  evils  that  must  be  in  a  large  degree 
remedied  by  voluntary  effort.  He  gives  care- 
ful attention,  beyond  the  enforced  sanitary  reg- 
ulations, to  the  evils  attending  the  grouping  of 
large  numbers  of  families  in  tenement  houses  for 
the  sake  of  carrying  on  production  on  a  large 
scale.  He  even  considers  that  in  some  re- 
spects the  man  who  works  for  wages  only,  was 
better  off  under  the  old  system  of  manufacture, 
that  is,  he  considers  that  the  gain  to  the  wage 
earner  in  personal  freedom  is  not  sufficient  to 
balance  the  disadvantages  that  have  come  with  the 
loss  of  the  fixed  industrial  position  of  medieval 
times;  but  the  ethical  manufacturer  also  recog- 
nizes that  the  wheels  of  progress  do  not  turn 
backward,  and  that  industrial  freedom  must  be 
achieved  through  the  same  general  process  that  has 
secured  personal  independence,  that  is,  there  must 
be  a  more  thorough  adoption  of  the  democratic 
principle,  and  to  that  end,  he  advocates  productive- 
co-operation  whenever  feasible. 


THE  STATE.  115 

But  there  would  still  remain  the  evils  attendant 
upon  the  great  division  of  labor  necessitated  by  the 
use  of  machinery.  The  monotony  of  doing  the 
same  small,  seemingly  insignificant  portion  of  work, 
day  after  day,  week  after  week,  and  year  after  year, 
dulls  even  the  original  activity  of  mind,  and  makea 
the  worker  almost  as  much  of  an  automaton  as  the 
machine  which  he  tends.  But  such  work  must  be 
done,  and  the  only  thing  left  for  the  ethical  manu- 
facturer is  to  assist  in  making  possible  opportuni- 
ties for  the  incitement  in  other  needed  lines  of 
activity.  Such  monotonous  work  demands  fewer 
hours  than  interesting,  pleasing  work,  and  with  the 
shorter  working  day,  there  would  be  time  for  recre- 
ation and  restful  kinds  of  activity.  All  the  availa- 
ble means  in  the  way  of  clubs  and  reading  circles, 
Chautauquas  and  university  extension  and  evening 
schools,  concerts  and  social  gatherings  to  which 
should  be  invited  others  that  did  not  belong  to  "  our 
set,"  sewing  classes,  cooking  classes,  and  opportuni- 
ties for  learning  simple  uses  of  tools  would  be 
utilized  as  far  as  possible. 

The  practical  man  might  advocate  the  same  above- 
mentioned  measures,  but  he  would  first  find  out 
whether  a  working  day  of  eight  hours  in  all  kinds 
of  industry  could  produce  sufficient  to  feed  and 
clothe  the  people  of  the  country,  and  whether  the 
democratic   control   in    business   brings   sufficient 


116  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

amount  of  good  to  balance  the  loss  that  comes  from 
a  lack  of  individual  control,  and  whether  all  the 
means  for  education  and  recreation  educated  the 
workers  out  of  their  station,  that  is,  whether  the 
good  obtained  was  more  than  offset  by  the  discon- 
tent engendered. 

In  industries  that  are  monopolies  by  nature,  or 
semi- public  in  character,  the  position  of  the  prac- 
tical man  and  of  the  ethical  man  has  already  been 
indicated  (  p.  85).  The  economic  man  insists 
that  this  kind  of  industries  is  also  subject  to  the 
laws  of  competition  and  that  the  state  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  regulation  of  industries,  and  there- 
fore his  position  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  of 
the  economic  manufacturer. 

One  more  illustration: 

While  the  producer  and  consumer  are  both  con- 
cerned with  the  articles,  their  utilities  and  the 
mechanism  of  exchange,  the  distributer  and  the 
recipient  of  economic  wealth  are  each  interested  in 
the  comparative  values  represented  by  the  different 
articles  of  production ;  and  the  problem  is  to  find 
an  equitable  basis  for  a  division  of  the  value  of  the 
results  of  the  productive  process. 

Entering  into  every  productive  process  with 
greater  or  less  prominence  are  the  four  classes: 
(1)  The  owners  of  natural  resources — landlords; 
owners  of   an  applied  portion  of   the  sustenance 


THE  STATE.  117 

fund — capitalists;  owners  of  a  comparatively  large 
degree  of  mental  energy — undertakers;  owners  of 
physical  energy — wage  earners.  There  is  a  char- 
acteristic about  each  of  these  factors  that  must  not 
be  overlooked — the  nature  of  the  limitation  of  the 
kind  of  ownership  of  each.  The  landlord  owns 
land;  land  is  limited  in  quantity,  its  space  relations 
is  the  prominent  element  for  consideration.  The 
capitalist  owns  capital,  whose  quantity  may  theo- 
retically become  unlimited,  its  rate  of  accumulation, 
its  time  relations  are  the  most  prominent.  The 
business- managers  own  nkill,  insight  and  ability, 
the  use  of  this  intellectual  energy,  the  direction  in 
which  it  is  employed  is  the  chief  element  for  con- 
sideration. The  wage-earner  owns  physical  energy 
in  a  larger  degree  than  mental  power,  the  amount 
of  energy  is  the  emphatic  element.  As  all  of  these 
elements  enter  a  productive  process,  so  in  every 
process  of  distribution  each  one  comes  in  for  a 
share  of  the  value,  and  it  is  only  when  one  element 
is  more  efficiently  an  agent  in  the  creation  of  value 
than  the  others,  that  that  one  should  have  more  of 
the  value  than  the  others. 

Also  it  should  be  noticed  that  ail  these  factors 
are,  in  a  sense,  not  co  ordinate;  that  is,  the  two 
former  have  similar  characteristics  that  co-ordinate 
them  and  the  two  latter.  The  value  of  the  product 
is  dependent  upon  and  therefore  belongs  in  a  more 


118  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

direct  way  to  human  energy,  mental  and  physical, 
than  to  the  inanimate  forces.  The  value  of  the 
product  is  logically  tirst  distributed  to  the  workers, 
business  managers  and  wage- earners,  and  they  in 
turn  distribute  to  the  landlords  and  capitalists. 

The  nature  and  functions  of  capital  and  the  rela- 
tion of  the  capitalist  to  the  wage  earner  appear  dif- 
ferent from  the  different  standpoints  we  have  been 
considering. 

The  general  position  of  the  economic  man  on 
these  points  is  well  known.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
mention  certain  familiar  and  much  quoted  phrases 
to  define  his  extreme  position:  by  "abstinence'' 
the  capitalist  amasses  a  sum  of  money  which  he 
may  determine  to  put  into  a  productive  enterprise 
and  this  sum  becomes  his  capital;  and  as  a  portion 
of  this  sum  must  be  set  apart  for  the  support  of 
labor,  this  portion  becomes  a  '*  wage-fund  "  which 
divided  among  a  larger  number,  gives  a  less 
portion  to  each  wage-earner.  The  most  effi- 
cient remedy  for  low  wages  is  therefore  to  decrease 
the  divisor.  The  perfect  competition  supposed 
gives  each  man  an  equal  opportunity  with  every 
other  man  to  become  of  more  importance  and  to 
get  higher  wages.  As  the  wages  and  profits  must 
both  come  out  of  the  same  fixed  sum,  as  wages 
increase  profits  must  decrease;  and  consequently 
there  can  be  no  real  spirit  of  co-operation  between 


THE  STATE.  119 

capitalist  and  laborer,  but  only  one  of  antagonism 
occasioned  by  the  effort  to  each  get  the  larger  share 
of  a  certain  sum. 

To  the  economic  man,  the  capitalist  is  the  one 
who  puts  things  in  motion  and  upon  whom  the 
laborer  is  wholly  dependent,  and  the  laborer  seem- 
ingly has  a  fixed  industrial  position  which  can  only 
vary  between  the  points  of  "starvation  wages''  and 
the  greatest  amount  that  can  be  obtained  from  the 
wage- fund  by  decreasing  the  number  of  workers. 
And  any  amount  of  combination  among  wage 
earners  by  the  way  of  organizations  like  trade- 
unions,  cannot  pdQHgty  increase  the  amount  of  the 
wa^e  furi&i£nd  consequently  cannot  raise  wages. 

The  practical  man  and  the  ethical  man  need  not 
necessarily  differ  from  each  other  in  their  funda- 
mental conception  of  the  nature  and  functions  of 
capital.  They  may  take  any  one  of  the  various 
views  held  at  the  present  day.  The  following  ex- 
ample, which  attempts  a  partial  interpretation  of 
the  ideas  of  Bohm-Bawerk,  Jevons,  and  H.  C. 
Adams,  may  serve  the  purpose  of  this  illustration: 

While  the  landlord  gets  his  amount  of  the 
results  of  the  productive  process  as  pay  for  the 
quantity  of  space  which  he  controls,  the  interest 
which  the  capitalist  receives  comes  to  him  because 
Q^tJi6Li*a>porbanc9  of  the  time-element  in  produc- 
tion* and  the  demands  of  society.    Suppose  the  value 


120  THE  ETHICAL  PBIXCIPLE. 

of  all  the  agricultural  products  in  a  given  country 
at  the  end  of  a  year  is  lOOx.  By  a  restriction  of 
the  amount  that  might  have  been  consumed, 
this  country  has  lOx  that  is  not  consumed;  but  as 
no  one  knew  that  that  amount  would  be  left  over, 
the  value  of  each  unit  of  that  amount  is  the  same 
as  each  unit  of  the  lOOx;  then  some  enterprising 
people,  seeing  the  increase  of  population  and  the 
consequent  demand  for  utilities,  put  this  lOx  into 
tools,  machines,  etc.,  the  labor  and  land  forces 
remaining  the  same  during  the  year,  by  the  means 
of  which  the  increased  amount  of  surplus  at  the 
end  of  the  next  year  becomes  12x  in  value.  Now 
the  additional  2x  came  from  the  putting  of  the  lOx 
sustenance  fund  into  forms  of  "capital;"  the 
2x  was  really  gained  upon  lOx,  or  the  rate  of 
gain  upon  this  form  of  applied  force  is  — ,  and 
this  gain  has  come  because  at  the  end  of  the  year 
the  wants  of  society  are  such  that  the  amount  of 
force  represented  by  the  2x  will  be  needed  to  sup- 
ply the  demands  of  the  country.  Therefore,  in 
very  much  the  same  way  that  the  rental  value  of 
land  depends  upon  society  as  a  whole,  the  accumu- 
lation of  this  amount  of  value  comes  because  the 
various  changes  in  the  demands  of  society  have 
given  this  time  element  a  value  that  is  called  inter- 
est. Several  other  elements  are  of  importance  and 
capable  of   analysis,  but  the  thought  is,  that  the- 


THE  STATE.  121 

emphatic  steadfast  element  in  interest  is  the  time- 
element  which  renders  the  social  and  productive 
changes  possible. 

As  Professor  Bohm-Bawerk  says  (Capital  and 
Interest,  Vol.  I,  p.  259):  "The  loan  is  a  real 
exchange  of  present  goods  against  future  goods. 
*  *  *  Present  goods  possess  an  agio  in  future 
goods.     This  agio  is  interest." 

The  language  of  the  quotation  appears  to  be  from 
the  standpoint  of  "individual  capital"  rather  than 
from  that  of  "social  capital.''  But  the  thought  can 
be  applied  to  the  above  example.  The  different  arti- 
cles, or  their  utilities,  which  represent  the  lOx 
value  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  though  they 
may  have  changed  form  and  number  many  times 
during  the  year,  at  the  end  of  the  year  have  a  value 
of  12x,  because  the  number  and  range  of  wants  of 
the  people  have  changed.  It  does  not  follow  that 
changes  always  mean  an  increase  of  social  capital; 
as,  in  a  time  of  famine,  one  individual  capitalist 
may  obtain  a  large  rate  of  interest,  which  really 
comes  from  another  capitalist  or  from  wealth  that 
should  have  been  converted  into  forms  for  imme- 
diate consumption  by  starving  people,  and  not  from 
a  real  increase  of  social  capital.  Thus,  in  our 
example,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  while  society  as  a 
whole  would  have  2x  value,  if  there  were  no  hope 
of  increase   of  wants  or  no  ability  with    each  one 


122 


THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


to  satisfy  them,  the  marginal  utility  of  the  capital 
of  the  individual  capitalist  would  have  decreased 
approximately  one  fifth. 

Although,  according  to  the  above  example,  the 
normal  rate  of  interest  is  .20,  some  business  mana- 
ger with  strong  insightjnto  the  probable  demands 
of  the  next  year,  will  be*willing,  in  starting  a  new 
business,  to  pay  more  £han  the  normal  rate,  and 
yet,  owing  to  his  getrfig  ahead  by  the  way  of  an 
invention,  or  by  "taking  up"  very  fertile  soil,  he 
will  have  a  large  surplus  from  his  business  venture. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  business  man  may  not  esti- 
mate correctly  the  direction  in  which  this  force 
should  be  employed,  or  some  sudden  change  in  the 
fashion  may  reduce  the  special  form  of  his  capital 
to  uselessness;  but  as  its  value  may  have  passed 
into  other  forms,  this  deterioration  of  value  may  be 
a  loss  to  the  individual  capitalist,  but  not  to  society 
as  a  whole.  That  is,  an  individual  may  estimate 
his  capital  and  express  it  in  terms  of  money  at  any 
time,  but  the  social  capital  is  a  force  whose  inten- 
sity can  be  estimated  with  surety  only  when  in  a 
certain  form. 

It  may  be  suggested  that  there  is  a  possibility  of 
estimating  the  value  of  capital  from  the  social 
standpoint  just  as  well  after  it  has  assumed  the 
form  of  machines,  tools,  etc.,  as  when  in  the  form 
of  a  sustenance  fund.     That  would  be  true,  if  it 


THE  STATE. 


123 


were  not  for  the  element  of  "  thought"  that  enters 
all  estimates  of  value.  For  instance,  suppose  the 
value  of  all  the  capital  of  a  country  or  of  the  com- 
mercial world  were  estimated  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year;  a  machine  is  directly  afterward  given  a 
place-value  by  being  transported  from  the  east  to 
California,  and  that  machine  makes  a  kind  of  cloth 
which  immediately  "  sets  a  fashion,"  and  there  is 
an  immense  demand.  How  much  of  the  value  of 
the  cloth  should  be  attributed  to  the  engine  that 
gave  the  machine  a  place-value  ?  Or  should  none 
of  this  value  be  considered  as  entering  the  value  of 
the  engine?  Should  an  arbitrary  dividing  line  be 
made  and  the  value  of  the  engine  be  estimated  from 
the  "cost  of  production,"  and  should  this  cost  of 
production  be  reduced  to  terms  of  labor,  or  to  the 
"supply -prices"  of  the  materials  composing  the 
engine  t  Or  shall  the  value  of  the  engine  depend 
upon  the  "  reciprocal  demand "  for  engines  when 
compared  with  other  articles;  and  if  so,  what  ele- 
ments enter  that  demand?  May  there  not  be  a 
complete  readjustment  of  values  all  over  the  com- 
mercial world,  by  the  simple  change  of  the  wants 
of  consumers?  If  true,  is  there  any  certain  way  of 
estimating  social  capital  after  it  leaves  the  form  of 
"  sustenance  fund  ?  "  For  since  the  thought-element 
of  a  want  will  always  enter  for  consideration,  can 
the  variations  of  thought,  which  enter  as  an  ele- 


124  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

ment  to  cause  the  fluctuations  in  values  which  in 
turn  cause  some  capital  to  assume  new  forms  and 
other  forms  to  become  useless,  be  ever  estimated  f 

Both  the  practical  man  and  the  ethical  man 
acknowledge,  that,  while  the  existence  of  capi- 
tal is  due  to  individual  foresight  and  prudence 
and  self-restraint  in  refusing  to  consume  all  the 
utilities  represented  by  the  sustenance  fund,  yet  the 
rate  of  its  accumulation  and  the  variations  depend 
closely  upon  the  needs  and  wants  and  resources  of 
society;  and  they  consider  that  the  individual  con- 
trol over  capital  that  society  has  logically  and  right- 
fully granted  to  them,  places  upon  them  certain 
obligations  which  in  other  capacities  they  might  not 
have. 

Both  the  practical  man  and  the  ethical  man, 
taking  the  above  view  of  "natural  interest," 
grant  that  by  foresight  in  anticipating  elevating 
wants  of  society,  and  by  skill  in  investing,  the  indi- 
vidual capitalist  may  justly  get  more  than  natural 
interest.  Also  both  grant,  that  wages  as  well 
as  "  profit "  come  from  the  product  and  that 
there  is  no  fixed  ratio  in  which  the  distribution 
must  be  made.  Both  also  agree  that  the  "  standard 
of  comfort "  and  not  the  amount  of  money  measures 
the  wages  received.  And  both  see  that  the  kind  of 
industry  and  the  consequent  constructive  legal 
measures  are  elements  that   assist  indirectly  to  de- 


THE  STATE.  125 

termine  the  relations  of  capitalist  and  laborer  even 
in  the  competitive  phases  of  industries. 

But  there  are  other  points  upon  which  there 
would  be  different  conclusions,  depending  upon  the 
standpoint. 

Some  practical  men  say  that  the  whole  problem 
of  distribution  may  be  solved  by  an  application  of 
the  "law  of  rent"  to  determine  the  "profit"  of 
the  business  manager,  and  when  one  portion  is 
fixed  as  a  starting  point,  the  problem  becomes  easy; 
other  practical  men,  as  well  as  the  ethical  man,  say 
that  the  law  of  rent  can  be  applied  in  a  similar 
manner  to  determine  the  portion  of  any  one  of  the 
four  classes  of  claimants,  and  that  such  a  theory  of 
distribution  is  simply  a  conception  of  a  series  of 
forces  in  equilibrium  without  any  really  self  con- 
sistent, self -deter  mining  element,  and  that  with 
such  a  conception,  the  starting  point  in  the  distri- 
butive process  can  be  none  other  than  an  arbitrary 
one. 

The  practical  man  says  that  wages  depend  upon 
the  "efficiency  of  labor  and  upon  the  amount  of 
land,"  or  expressed  differently  upon  the  "  law  of 
substitution,"  or  that  "  the  wages  of  every  class  of 
labor  tend  to  be  equal  to  the  produce  due  to  the 
additional  labor  of  the  marginal  laborer  of  that 
class." 

The  ethical  man  says  that  the  conditions  are  so 


126  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

various  that  different  trades  and  branches  of  indus- 
try must  be  considered  by  themselves  in  order  to 
find  the  "marginal  worker,"  and  that  it  is  not 
much  more  difficult  to  discover  the  "  normal  man,'* 
than  it  is  to  discover  this  point  of  equilibrium  at 
which  a  worker  would  as  soon  do  one  kind  of  work 
as  another;  that  the  practical  man's  competition,  or 
"economic  freedom  and  enterprise"  seems  to  be 
largely  confined  to  freedom  in  a  particular  kind  of 
business  and  that  the  employer  really  estimates 
how  much  the  man  is  worth  to  him  and  pays  for 
his  ability  and  skill  accordingly  with  not  much 
reference  to  other  kinds  of  industries;  and  that  in 
such  a  process  of  estimating  the  worth  of  a  man  to 
the  particular  industry,  competition  takes  the  de- 
sired vertical  direction  or  that  which  depends  upon 
the  skill  and  ability  of  the  worker  rather  than  the 
horizontal  competition  or  that  where  "numbers" 
is  the  chief  factor. 

Marshall  says :  *  "  The  corrected  law  then  stands 
that  the  tendency  of  economic  freedom  and  enter- 
prise is  generally  to  equalize  efficiency -earnings  in 
the  same  district;  but  where  much  expensive  capital 
is  used,  it  would  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  employer 
to  raise  the  time-earnings  of  the  more  efficient  work- 
ers more  than  in  proportion  to  their  efficiency." 
The   ethical   man  would  see  that   the  "corrected 

*  Principles  of  Economics,  p.  581. 


THE  STATE.  127" 

law"  might  have  applications  for  other  reasons 
than  the  "advantage  of  the  employer." 

The  practical  man  also  says  that  wages  depend 
upon  the  amount  of  capital,  not  that  the  capital 
forms  a  wage  fund,  but  that  the  product  is 
increased  by  an  increase  of  capital  and  therefore 
wages  indirectly  depend  upon  the  capital  invested;, 
the  ethical  man  grants  that  such  a  position  is  a 
true  one  but  that  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that 
the  laborers  will  get  their  share  of  the  product 
because  of  any  inherent  "natural  law":  that 
"  natural  law  "  in  the  distributive  process  is  largely 
the  will  of  the  business  manager. 

The  practical  man  sees  that  the  present  state  of 
antagonism  between  capital  and  labor  is  in  a  meas- 
ure due  to  either  the  tacit  or  open  combination  of 
capitalists  in  accordance  with  the  ideas  of  the 
economic  man  in  the  decades  that  have  passed,  and 
that  trade- unions,  etc.,  among  wage  enrners  are  for 
the  most  part  counter-combinations  to  obtain  rights 
that  in  justice  are  theirs,  and  to  secure  a  more  cor- 
rect proportional  share  of  the  "producer's  surplus  " 
than  they  seem  to  be  able  to  get  in  any  other  way: 
the  ethical  man  sees  that  the  same  result  can  be 
accomplished  in  a  better  way;  that  the  wage  earn- 
er's position  is  not  fixed  in  that  stratum  and  that 
anyone  may  develop  the  ability  which  fits  him  for 
a  business  if  given  the  opportunity.     And  to  that 


128  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

end  he  will  try  to  increase  the  sense  of  personal 
responsibility  of  the  wage- earner  in  all  practical 
forms  of  co-operation, — productive,  and  associa- 
tion farming,  distributive — and  in  different  forms 
of  profit  sharing;  for  the  ethical  man  sees  that 
such  measures  are  not  revolutionary  but  are  only 
making  more  explicit  what  already  exists  to  some 
degree  in  industries  where  no  one  of  the  above- 
mentioned  forms  is  avowedly  used:  as  Professor 
Marshall  states,  "Even  where  the  same  price  is 
paid  all  over  the  market  for  the  same  work  with 
the  same  machinery,  the  prosperity  of  a  firm 
increases,  for  almost  every  one  of  its  employes,  the 
chance  of  advancement,  and  also  of  continuous 
employment  when  trade  is  slack,  and  much -cov- 
eted overtime  when  trade  is  good.  There  is  de 
facto  some  sort  of  profit  and  loss  sharing  between 
almost  every  business  and  its  employes." 

The  practical  man  grants  that  through  combina- 
tion of  wage- earners,  wages  may  even  encroach 
upon  loan-interest  and  that  in  the  course  of  time 
interest  may  become  zero;  both  the  practical  man 
and  the  ethical  man  grant  that  that  such  a  condition 
may  be  reached  is  in  accordance  with  the  above  ideas 
of  natural  interest,  that  is,  when  the  capital  of  a 
country  has  a  tendency  to  increase  more  rapidly 
than  the  possibilities  of  industry  to  satisfy  the 
wants  of  the  people  or  their  ability  to  satisfy  them. 


THE  STATE.  .      129 

natural  interest  may  become  zero;  if  such  is  the 
possibility,  the  ethical  man  has  a  double  assurance 
that  it  is  not  sentiment  to  remit,  when  the  circum- 
stances and  character  of  the  borrower  justify  it, 
the  interest  upon  a  loan  or  mortgage,  or  to  allow 
the  payment  to  be  deferred  until  a  year  of  better 
erops  or  of  more  successful  business;  if  his  princi- 
pal remains  intact  the  ethical  man  considers  that  the 
has  still  the  reward  of  his  own  individual  industry. 

Some  practical  men  say  that  "  Protection  ''  raises 
wages  in  the  kinds  of  business  protected  to  the 
rate  paid  in  unprotected  industries,  and  that  pro- ' 
tection  is  only  necessary  in  a  new  country  and 
then  for  the  sake  of  the  industrial  education 
thereby  attained  through  diversified  industries ;  the 
ethical  man  joins  in  the  conclusion,  that  to  con- 
tinue "  protection  "  after  the  industrial  education 
is  well  advanced  is  a  method  of  self  exclusion  from 
the  reciprocal  business  and  trade  interests  of  other 
countries. 

The  practical  man  as  a  laborer  considers  that, 
as  the  employer  has  the  advantage  of  opportunity 
and  perhaps  of  superior  mental  power,  he  is  justi- 
fied in  getting  all  of  the  product  that  he  can;  the 
ethical  wage- earner  looks  very  carefully  after  his 
own  faithfulness,  and  considers  that  there  may 
be  an  identity  of  interests  between  his  employer 
and  himself,  and  if  he  sees  that  his  efficiency  is  not 


130  THE  ETHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 

equal  to  that  of  others  of  the  same  grade  of  work- 
men he  offers  to  work  for  smaller  wages. 

The  practical  man  sees  that  many  of  the  evils 
of  the  "  sweating  system  "  can  be  done  away  with 
by  the  means  of  "  consumers'  leagues,"  by  which 
only  those  firms  which  pay  respectable  wages  shall 
be  patronized,  also  that  the  influence  of  public 
opinion  is  a  powerful  agent  in  assisting  business 
managers  to  a  method  of  distribution  more  nearly 
just  to  all  claimants  for  shares  of  the  product;  the 
ethical  man  considers  that  his  responsibility  for 
tne  work  from  his  establishment  ends  only  when 
the  articles  are  ready  for  consumption,  and  in 
limiting  his  energies  to  a  business  of  the  size  that 
he  can  manage  personally  he  is  able  to  see  that  the 
workers  receive  what  in  justice  is  theirs.  His 
interest  •  in  wage-earners  extends  beyond  their 
efficiency  as  workers;  for  he  looks  upon  them  as 
human  beings  with  like  wants,  desires  and  aspira- 
tions as  himself.  And  the  ethical  man  has  learned 
well  one  of  the  seeming  contradictions  of  the 
human  mind:  whenever  a  person  seeks  his  own 
good  first  regardless  of  the  good  of  others,  that 
which  he  seeks  eludes  his  grasp;  but  as  soon  as  he 
consciously  and  determinedly  prefers  another's 
good  to  his  own,  or  seeks  his  own  good  through 
another's,  at  that  moment  the  person  enters  into  a 
larger  and  more  complete  life. 


THE  STATE.  131 

The  inadequacy  of  illustrations  to  convey  com- 
pletely the  thought  contained  in  a  principle  is 
readiiy  granted.  It  is  doiajjjnifi  to  a  large  degree^  *r" 
true  that  the  "  economic  man"  of  Mill's  conception 
has  become  the  "  practical  man"  of  present  writers 
through  the  recognition  of  the  fact,  that  men  in 
business  relations  are  moved  by  motives  other  than 
that  of  self-interest;  and,  if  all  the  possible  grades 
of  business  motives  may  be  resolved  into  some  form 
either  of  self  interest  or  of  altruism  (laying  aside  the 
perfectly  valid  thought  of  the  reason,  that  the  uni- 
verse is  created  in  accordance  with  altruistic  prin- 
ciples, and  that  man  can  only  truly  develop  as  he- 
adopts  and  exemplifies  these  altruistic  principles  in 
all  his  relations  with  his  fellow-men),  is  there  not. 
reason  to  think  that  progress  in  the  future  will  be- 
by  a  more  extended  adoption  and  exemplification  of 
altruistic  principles,  and  that  the  "practical  man" 
of  future  generations  will  in  many  more  points; 
resemble  the  ethical  man  of  the  present? 


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